Central City of Despair
by MudkipOfDespair
Summary: KFkfkabkdnnNFB &fIbfLbfLKb? WhaTLKf? Error...
1. Roster Reveal

**A/N: This is it! The full cast for Central City of Despair is now being revealed. I just want to give a big thank you to everybody who sent in a character. Even if your character didn't make it in, I am glad to have received so many great OCs. Seriously, picking these sixteen was not easy. The first official chapter should be out by next week, so I hope you are all excited for that. With that out of the way, let's meet the cast!**

 **The Cast**

 **Student 1:**

Name: Nikui Joudan

Talent: Premier Comedian

Creator: MudkipOfDespair

Age: 19

Birthday: October 12th

Gender: Male

Nationality: Japanese  
Hair style/length/color: Short, clean cut brown hair

Eyes: Brown

Skin Tone: Pale

Weight: 146 lbs.

Height: 6'6"

Normal Clothing: A plain blue polo t-shirt, with basic blue jeans. He will sometimes wear a yellow polo t-shirt with black jeans. In either outfit, Nikui will wear a pair of dark blue sneakers.

Scars/Tattoos/Birthmarks: None

 **Student 2:**

Name: Chloe Raincomprix

Talent: Premier Queen Bee

Creator: CelestialSkyDragon

Age: 17

Birthday: August 17th

Gender: Female

Nationality:French

Hair color/style/length: Shoulder length bright yellow hair, kept in a neat ponytail. She wears a pair of Ray Bans sunglasses on her head, which are white in color.

Eye Color: Cerulean Blue

Skin Tone: Pale, Sunkissed Skin

Weight: 115 lbs.

Height: 5'5"

Normal Clothing: A sleeveless white shirt, with black stripes. She wears a pair of white Capri pants, and white flats on her feet. Over her shirt, she wears a bright yellow cardigan which she leaves unbuttoned.

Scars/Tattoos/Birthmarks: None

 **Student 3:**

Name: Abraham W. Roosevelt

Talent: Premier Politician

Creator: El_Torro

Age: 18

Birthday: January 20th

Gender: Male

Nationality: American

Hair color/style/length: A crew cut. He also uses a water-based pomade to sweep his hair to the right

Eye color: Brown

Skin Tone: Fair, with a farmer's tan

Weight: 171 lbs.

Height: 6'0"

Normal Clothing: Abe typically wears a medium-dark navy suit (which is buttoned) along with a burgundy tie, black dress shoes, and underneath his suit is a white dress shirt

Scars/Tattoos/Birthmarks: None

 **Student 4:**

Name: Zoey Grace

Talent: Premier Rhythm Game Player

Creator: gamergirl101

Age: 16

Birthday: June 19th

Gender: Female

Nationality:French

Hair color/style/length: Long blond hair

Eye color: Blue

Skin Tone: Fair

Weight: 112 lbs.

Height: 5'5"

Normal Clothing: Light blue shorts, black tank top, and sneakers

Scars/Tattoos/Birthmarks: None

 **Student 5:**

Name: Kasuka Kagami

Talent: Premier Psychologist

Creator: YuukiItsuka

Age: 17

Birthday: June 5th

Gender: Male

Nationality: Japanese

Hair color/style/length: Black, messy hair

Eye color: Red

Skin Tone: Fair

Weight: 112 lbs

Height: 6'0"

Normal Clothing: Black shirt and a lab coat. Wears glasses

Scars/tattoos/birthmarks: None

 **Student 6:**

Name: Helen Silvester

Talent: Premier Ballroom Dancer

Creator: lampgirl21

Age: 17

Birthday: February 25th

Gender: Female

Nationality: British

Hair color/style/length: Short blond hair, tied back into a bun

Eye color: Emerald Green

Skin Tone: Very Pale

Weight: 100 lbs.

Height: 5'2"

Normal Clothing: An elegant,,sleeveless light pink dress with a round neck. The top half of the dress is covered with sparkles and the skirt is full length and very wavy.

On her feet she has a simple pair of white dolly shoes. When dancing she puts on a pair of sparkly high heeled dance sandals.

Scars/Tattoos/Birthmarks: A mole on her chin

 **Student 7:**

Name: Hibiki Watanabe

Talent: Premier Chef

Creator: Astonishh

Age: 18

Birthday: March 6th

Gender: Male

Nationality: Japanese

Hair color/style/length: Black hair with blond highlights with a pompadour.

Eye Color: Steel gray

Skin Tone:Light Tan

Weight: 130 lbs.

Height: 5'6"

Normal Clothing: A standard chef's coat, opened to reveal a blue tee, with faded jeans and combat boots. In addition, he wears a watch on his left wrist.

Scars/Tattoos/Birthmarks: None

 **Student 8:**

Name: Shirahime Achikita

Talent: Premier Kunoichi

Creator: Trust Me I'm Me

Age: 16

Birthday: October 30th

Gender: Female

Nationality: Japanese

Hair color/style/length: Her wavy hair is naturally black, but members of her clan are required to dye their hair snow white to match their work environment, which is typically snowy. She has a fluffy side-ponytail that reaches down to her jaw. A skull mask adorns the left side of her forehead.

Eye Color: Emerald Green

Skin Tone: Dark

Weight: 129 lbs

Height: 5'9"

Normal Clothing: She wears a short white yukata with lavender-coloured flower designs that reaches down to the middle of her thighs. A lavender sash with an oversized ribbon keeps her yukata tightly wrapped around her. And neatly lined within her yukata's sleeves, are numerous smoke bombs, flashbangs, kunai, and even shuriken. Shirahime also keeps a set of climbing spikes for her hands and feet within her yukata, that she can use to scale walls and other surfaces.

Her long legs are covered by fishnet stockings, and she doesn't wear shoes of any sort. By forgoing footwear, her footsteps obtain a level of silence that would otherwise be impossible. Finally, a single lavender ribbon is tied around the ankle of her left foot.

Scars/Tattoos/Birthmarks: Two tattoos in the shape of dark lines run down from her emerald green eyes.

 **Student 9:**

Name: Morgan Redding

Talent: Premier Barber

Creator: BouncingFish

Age: 18

Birthday: May 10th

Gender: Male

Nationality: Australian

Hair color/style/length: He has a buzz cut. He also has a thick, well-groomed, handlebar mustache.

Eye Color: Blue

Skin Tone: Caucasian; exceptionally tan

Weight: 222 lbs.

Height: 6'7"

Normal Clothing: He wears slacks and a button-up shirt with long sleeves, both of which are navy blue. Over that is a vertically-striped vest that alternates between white lines and light blue lines. The bowtie he wears is red, as is the ribbon around his straw boater (it's the barbershop hat). To finish his ensemble, he wears brown men's dress shoes and and a brown belt with a golden buckle.

Scars/Tattoos/Birthmarks: None

 **Student 10:**

Name: Adriana Andrade

Talent: Premier Rapper

Creator: Superguy559

Age: 16

Birthday: December 2nd

Nationality: Brazilian

Gender: Female

Hair color/style/length: Long, yellow hair

Eye Color: Gold

Skin Tone: Tanned

Weight: 170 lbs

Height: 6'1"

Normal Clothing:Wears a cap on her head with the words "BOSS" sewn into it in tacky gold bling. She wears a tight leather jacket and a tank top that shows off her rather large cleavage. She has tight fitting jeans with a belt that has a golden buckle. She wears stylish platform shoes. Around her neck lay any gold necklaces. She has three gold rings on each hand.

Scars/Tattoos/Birthmarks: None

 **Student 11:**

Name: Aiger Nakano

Talent: Premier Metalworker

Creator: JCW18

Age: 16

Birthday: November 12th

Nationality: Japanese

Gender: Male

Hair Color/Style/Length: Long dark brown hair that he styles in a slight ponytail behind his head.

Eye Color: Azure Blue

Skin tone: Fair, with a slight tan

Weight: 132 lbs

Height: 5'9"

Normal Clothing: He has azure blue eyes, and long dark brown hair that he styles in a slight ponytail behind his head. He wears a white t-shirt with black outlines, and black suspenders that come over his shoulders that connect down to his black shorts. He also wears a red open buttoned jacket, and red tennis shoes. Finally, on his left (dominant) hand and arm, he has a navy blue arm glove that he wears at all times (to help protect his dominant hand when he works in a forge)

Scars/Tattoos/Birthmarks: None

 **Student 12:**

Name: Caroline Augustus

Talent: Premier Duelist

Creator:danieltruong1917

Age: 15

Birthday: April 18th

Gender: Female

Nationality: Swedish

Hair Color/Style/Length: Silver blonde hair, at neck length

Eye Color: Bright Blue

Skin Tone: Extremely Pale

Weight: 98 lbs.

Height: 5'3"

Normal Clothing: She wears a blue and yellow uniform and a three point hat similar to those from sweden's military in the 18th century.

Scars/Tattoos/Birthmarks: She has plenty of scrapes and bruises that give her a more masculine appearance

 **Student 13:**

Name: Matt Saito

Talent: Premier Swordsman

Creator: Sparten2121

Age: 16

Birthday: September 15th

Nationality: Japanese

Gender: Male

Hair Color/Style/Length: Black hair with a tip falling in front of his face.

Eye Color: Green

Skin Tone: Fair

Weight: 137 lbs

Height: 5'8"

Normal Clothes: Plain black shirt with black pants with a plain black sweater with sleeves rolled up and black shoes

Scars/Tattoos/Birthmarks: None

 **Student 14:**

Name: Rin Shizuko

Talent: Premier Teacher's Assistant

Creator: McLogal

Age: 18

Birthday: January 11th

Nationality: Japanese

Gender: Female

Hair Color/Style/Length: Icy white hair in twin drills with bangs covering right eye

Eye Color: Pale Blue

Weight: 140 lbs.

Height:5'7"

Skin Tone: Fair

Normal Clothing: Small black bow tie in right drill of hair, black school girl outfit with pale pink trim sleeves rolled up to elbow height with hot pink tie and white undershirt, black short skirt going above knees

Scars/Tattoos/Birthmarks: None

 **Student 15:**

Name: Jacen Dawn

Talent: Premier Writer

Creator: Little_max

Age: 16

Birthday: May 12th

Gender: Male

Hair Color/Style/Length: Messy short reddish hair

Eye Color: White

Skin Tone: Fair, with a slight tan

Weight: 125 lbs

Height: 5'4"

Normal Clothing: He wears a black jacket with a white shirt saying Wars with jeans and black boots.

Scars/Tattoos/Birthmarks: None

 **Student 16:**

Name: Luna Skadi

Talent: Premier Archer

Creator: dougcupcake

Age: 17

Birthday: December 2nd

Nationality: Swedish

Gender: Female

Hair Color/Style/Length: Long golden blonde hair, shining like the sun, pulled up into a ponytail most of the time

Eye Color: Chocolate Brown

Skin Tone: Fair and healthy

Weight: 145 lbs

Height: 5'9"

Normal Clothing: A white Ushanka,white jacket unzipped, camo t-shirt, frayed blue jeans, hiking boots, quiver and collapsible black compound bow.

Scars/Tattoos/Birthmarks: None

 **A/N: And there we go! The full roster for Central City has been revealed! Thanks once again for each every submission, seriously. Now, get ready for the despair, because I can promise you, it will be plentiful.**

 **-MudkipOfDespair**

 **Population of Central City: 16**


	2. Prologue-Part 1

**Prologue: Part One**

 _ **Location Unknown**_

 _ **Time Unknown**_

Darkness.

It was the only thing he could sense.

Nothing but pitch-black darkness and... movement? The sounds of an engine?

Nikui's eyes snapped open and, with a start, realized that he did not know where he was. The teen, dressed in a blue polo with matching pants, stood up and scanned his brown eyes across his surroundings.

He appeared to be on a bus, of some sort- if buses had no windows, and were painted exclusively in black and white. And had no visible exits. He was also sitting on a couch seat made of a leather that was - surprise - black and white.

Needless to say, Nikui was very, _very_ , confused.

 _What is going on here?_ Nikui thought, standing up and walking out of the seat, a frown forming on his face as he ran his hand through his short brown hair.

"Oh good. I'm not the only one awake," a voice sounded from behind Nikui, causing him to whip around to face the source.

There, a boy around his age was standing, looking right at him. The newcomer was about a full head shorter than him, and dressed in a navy blue shirt worn with a burgundy tie over what appeared to be a white dress shirt. His eyes, like Nikui's, were brown, and his hair was in the same clean-cut style, but the newcomer's hair was black, as opposed to Nikui's brown.

Nikui wasn't sure what to make of him. On one hand, he looked normal enough, but then again, he _did_ just wake up in an unfamiliar place with no memory of how he got there. He decided to introduce himself. If he was an enemy, he was as good as dead anyway, but if he wasn't, well, it's always a good idea to know your allies.

"It's good to see I'm not the only one awake. Who are you?" came the stranger's voice again.

Nikui blinked in surprise. He was planning to ask the stranger the same question. "Nikui Joudan," he replied, "I'm known as the Premier Comedian." Nikui wasn't sure why he included his Premier title in his introduction, he didn't normally. Perhaps it was something about the boy in front of him.  
"Ah, so I'm not the only Premier here. My name is Abraham Roosevelt, the Premier Politician. But you can just call me Abe." The boy, named Abe, introduced himself.

"So Abe," Nikui began to ask, " do you have any idea of where we are?"

Abe appeared to think for a moment, before responding. "None, I'm afraid." The politician offered a smile. "But at least there's someone besides me that is awake."

"You keep mentioning 'someone else awake,'" Nikui noted. "Are there others here?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid I've been unsuccessful in awakening them." Abe gave a disappointed sigh. "At least we can watch over them until they wake up."

Nikui was about to respond when he heard a sharp intake of air, and then another. It seemed to come from the other end of the dimly-lit bus.

Nikui turned and asked Abe, "Would that be them?"

"Probably. Well, I guess we should go take a look."

Abe gave him a nod before the pair set off towards the source of the sound. As they got closer to what Nikui assumed was the back of the bus, he was able to make out two figures, both appearing to be girls of about his age.

The girl to his left had a slender form, with long blond hair cascading down her back and sky blue eyes. She wore a black tank top as well as light blue shorts and a pair of sneakers.

The girl on his right was similar in appearance, although her hair was shorter and more yellowish, with her eyes being more cerulean in color. She wore a white shirt with horizontal black stripes under a bright yellow cardigan, with white capri pants rounding out the ensemble. A pair of sunglasses rested upon her head, with a golden watch situated on her left wrist with a similar bracelet on her right.

The weird thing about the pair, though, was the fact that they appeared to be staring daggers at each other.

Nikui was about to speak, hoping to introduce himself, but before he could do so the girl to his left began speaking in what can only be described as the textbook definition of an entitled French brat.

"Out of everyone that could be here, it just had to be this fucking bitch!" the first girl sneered at the other.

The second girl scoffed. "Who the fuck do you think you're talking to? I'm so many leagues above you that you should be groveling at my feet!"

If the first girl was the textbook definition of an entitled French brat, then the second girl was the one who inspired the term.

Nikui was certainly taken aback by the…...colorful language from the two girls were using and he wasn't sure if stepping in between the two would be more threatening to his safety then letting it continue.

Thankfully, Abe made the decision for him, as the politician stepped forward between the two females. "Excuse me, but might the two of you introduce yourselves?" he asked with a smile.

The pair rounded on him, anger flaring in their eyes, as if they were expecting an attacker. Instead, they were met with the rather normal looking Abe and Nikui.

"Who are you?" the first girl asked, her tone dripping with suspicion.

"My name is Abraham Roosevelt, the Premier Politician. And this is Nikui Joudan, the Premier Comedian." Nikui breathed a silent sigh of relief. For once, he was thankful a politician had said something.

The second girl frowned, and turned to look at Nikui.

"A comedian huh? Well, I could use a jester in my circle. My name is Chloe Raincomprix, the Premier Queen Bee. But you can refer to me as your goddess. I know, my appearance is simply too much for you to handle, but sometimes I like to grace the plebs with my presence." A smug smirk had formed on Chloe's lips.

"So, what do you say? Willing to become my jester?" Chloe leaned toward Nikui, flashing a brilliant smile.

"No thanks." the comedian deadpanned.

The girl whose name was still unknown burst into laughter.

"Haha! Get denied, bitch!" Chloe stepped back, her smile turning into a grimace.

Nikui decided to ignore the Queen Bee, instead turning towards the other girl. "What's your name, if I may ask?"

The girl smirked before replying with, "My name is Zoey Grace, and I'm the Premier Rhythm Game Player. So, unlike that bitch, I actually have talent."

On this, Chloe immediately began to yell at Zoey. Again.

Seeing this, Nikui pressed his hand to his forehead while Abe let out a bemused chuckle.

Nikui really wasn't sure if Zoey or Chloe was less tolerable, or if he could tolerate another of their arguments. Regardless, he decided against sharing that particular sentiment and instead asked the obvious question.

"So, any idea what we're doing here?" he asked, looking at the pair, who had thankfully stopped yelling, but were still glaring at each other.

Chloe let out a sigh. "I don't. Though I must say I find this to be utterly ridiculous. Whoever had the gall to kidnap ME will pay dearly."

Zoey shrugged. "Don't look at me. The last thing I remember is getting the acceptance letter from S.T.S. After that, there's nothing."

Zoey's words caused Nikui to stop, the phrase 'acceptance letter' ringing in his mind.

 _That's right,_ he thought. _Acceptance letter. S.T.S._

S.T.S., or School for Talented Students. A school opened in London, molded after the illustrious Hope's Peak Academy in Japan. A place for talent to be cultivated, and for hope to shine upon the world.

He remembered receiving the letter of acceptance, the proud smiles of his grandparents when he showed it to them, his own pure joy at having his talent recognized.

 _And then… And then…_

Nikui struggled to remember what happened next. Yet, no matter how he tried, he just couldn't piece anything together.

 _So why am I on this bus?_ Nikui didn't know the answer, and wasn't sure if he really wanted to find out.

Abe paused a moment before looking around the bus they were in. He folded his arms as a frown formed upon his face.

"I must say," the politician began, his face wrinkled in thought, "it would take considerable resources to kidnap four premier students, as well as great cunning to avoid being caught."

"No kidding." Chloe stepped forward. "Capturing four premiers is one thing, but capturing the scions of two of the most influential families in Paris is another entirely." The Queen Bee looked almost smug as she put her guess forward.

"There's also the matter of where we're being taken," Nikui noted. "I highly doubt they'll keep us in this bus forever."

As if on cue, the bus appeared to come to a halt. Doors creaked open and slowly filled the bus with light.

Zoey chuckled. "Well I guess we're getting the answer now."

Nikui gave a curt nod before the small group made their way over to the opening, and out of the bus.

Little did they know the despair that was waiting for them on the outside.

 **Population:16**

 **A/n: Well this is it! The first official chapter of Central City of Despair! Now, while I have your attention, I would like to make a quick announcement regarding the Persona 5 SYOC. For now, that will be put on hold. Submissions are still welcome, though my planned start date of mid-March is likely not going to happen. Anyway, I hope you all liked the chapter, and please, leave any and all criticism in the reviews. It helps both me and you. I'll see you next chapter!**

 **-MudkipOfDespair**


	3. Prologue-Part 2

_**A/n: Before this chapter begins, I am very, very, pleased to announce that Central City of Despair is now an official spin-off of the Legacy of Despair series by Crit Fail! However, with CC being a part of that universe, some details had to be changed. The participants in this game are not students of Hope's Peak Academy. Rather, they are members of the 37th class of S.T.S., or School for Talented Students, in London. The previous chapter has been updated accordingly. With that out of the way, onto the despair!(Discord Link at the bottom)**_

* * *

 **Prologue: Part Two**

* * *

 _ **9:30 AM Day One**_

 _ **Central Square**_

Nikui brought his hand up to shield his eyes as he stepped out of the dark bus and into the bright outdoors. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he could scarcely believe what he saw.

He was standing in some sort of city square, buildings looming above him in every direction. Noting looked familiar - not the buildings, the layout, or the streets.

The strangest thing though, was the sky. It was an overcast gray, and something seemed off about it, like it wasn't quite natural.

The city was also devoid of life, and an uneasy silence hung over the group.

It was as if death had come to kill the city, only to leave the job half finished.

No exits were in sight. For all intents and purposes, they were trapped.

"S-so does this look familiar to you plebs?" Chloe asked, her voice slightly shaking.

Zoey's mouth formed into a grimace. "I don't recognize anything here."

Abe's eyes narrowed at something in the distance. "It seems we're also not the only ones here."

Nikui followed Abe's eyes and noticed that he was right. Three other groups of four, all appearing to be around Nikui's age were standing around other buses, a mix of confusion and fear etched on every face.

Nikui crossed his arms. "I think we might as well talk to them. They might something that we don't."

Chloe frowned. "Or they could be the reason we're here. Regardless, it would be good to talk to the other commoners."

Zoey let out a large sigh. "You're never going to win anyone over like that you know."

Chloe spun around to face Zoey, her eyes flaring. "What did you say bitch?"

Nikui stepped forward between the two, a slightly annoyed expression on his face. "Can we please save this squabble for later? We do have more pressing concerns."

Chloe let out a huff. "Fine. But this isn't over bitch." she said, practically throwing her last words at Zoey.

The group made its way to the center of the plaza, where the other groups had gathered around a large, dry, fountain.

An uneasy silence hung over the sixteen teens, none appearing to be willing to break the ice.

Finally, after what had seemed like ages, a muscular boy with a ponytail spoke up. "So I'm guessing none of us know why we're here, or who took us here?"

A girl with icy white hair closed her eyes before replying. "I certainly do not. Though I am sure the matter of our predicament will become clear soon enough."

Another girl, this one dressed in a wavy pink dress gave a smile. "Don't worry. I'm sure the police will find us before long."

A boy with a rather large handlebar mustache gave a similar smile. "Yeah. Do not worry! Someone is sure to help us out of here!"

The dark-skinned girl next to him, dressed in rather tacky bling raised an eyebrow at his statement, but said nothing.

A red-haired boy stepped forward. "They'd better come. I'm really not looking the like of this place." he said in a thick Irish accent.

A boy in a lab coat pushed his glasses up. "Regardless if someone is coming or not, I think it would be prudent to introduce ourselves to each other. I am guessing you all introduced yourselves to your individual groups?"

A taller boy with green eyes gave a nod. "We did indeed introduced ourselves. Though we still should make sure that everyone is at the very least aware of who everyone else is. We don't know how long we're going to be stuck in this hell hole."

The boy in the lab coat gave a nod, before continuing. "There's also another matter to consider. Everyone in my group was accepted to S.T.S. as a "Premier". I assume the same holds true for the other groups as well?"

Chloe gave a nod of confirmation. "Everyone in my group is one. Not sure about the rest of you plebs."

The girl in the bling snorted. "Yeah, that's gonna win us over. Anyway, everyone in my group was also a Premier."

The red-haired boy gave a thumbs up. "Same here. We're all Premiers as well."

The boy in the lab coat sighed. "Well I guess that's another mystery we're going to have to solve. Regardless, we should take the time now to make sure we are all acquainted with each other."

Abe stepped forward with a smile. "Well then. Let us take some time to go around and introduce ourselves."

A girl with long blond hair in a ponytail gave a sigh. "We might as well."

The muscular boy gave a wide grin. "Alright then. Let's get to it."

With that, the teens began to mingle amongst each other, introductions filling the air of the otherwise silent city.

* * *

"H-Hello."

Nikui heard a meek voice behind him, and turned to face the speaker.

It was a girl who stood a full head shorter than him with dark skin, green eyes, and white hair worn in a side ponytail with a bizarre-looking skull mask adorning the left side of her forehead. In addition, two markings adorned her face, just below her eyes.

She was wearing a short, white yukata, with lavender-colored flower patterns that reached down to the middle of her thighs. Her yukata was tied with a lavender sash with an oversized ribbon. Her legs were covered by fishnet stockings, and she was also barefoot.

Nikui gave her a smile. "Hello. My name is Nikui Joudan, and I'm the Premier Comedian. Nice to meet you."

The girl gave a small bow. "It is good to meet you. My name is Shirahime Achikita, and I'm known to others as the Premier Kunoichi."

"A kunoichi, huh?" Nikui asked, raising his hand to his chin. "So you're a ninja. That's pretty cool."

Shirahime fidgeted awkwardly. "I-It's alright. I'm actually n-not a true sh-shinobi quite yet. Though I am t-trying."

Nikui let out a small chuckle. "Well S.T.S. wouldn't recognize you if you weren't good, right? So have a bit more faith in yourself."

A faint crimson tint made its way onto Shirahime's face. "Th-Thank you," she replied, a small smile appearing on her face.

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Shirahime," Nikui said before turning away to introduce himself to the other students.

Shirahime gave another bow. "Likewise."

It wasn't long before another student, the red-haired boy, came up to talk to Nikui.

He was dressed in a black jacket over a white shirt that read "Wars," and he was also wearing black jeans and boots, and a small bag was slung over his right shoulder. The most striking thing about him was his milky white eyes.

The boy gave Nikui a grin before speaking in a thick Irish accent. "My name is Jacen Dawn, and I'm the Premier Writer. Nice to meet you."

Nikui nodded. "Nice to meet you, Jacen. I'm Nikui Joudan, the Premier Comedian."

"A comedian?" Jacen replied. "Any chance you could help me? I've been trying to implement more jokes into my writing, but unfortunately, I'm quite bad at it," he asked, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

"I guess," Nikui replied. "What kind of things do you write?"

Jacen paused a moment, before answering with, "I mostly write mystery and fantasy novels. Ever read _The Angel of the Hospital Ward_? That's one of my more well-known works."

Nikui thought for a moment, before replying. " _The Angel of the Hospital Ward_? Isn't that a mystery novel about a kidnapped nurse?"

Jacen nodded. "Yup. It's one of my favorites out of the books I've written. Though I think that the ending was a bit rushed."

Nikui chuckled. "Well, I'll have to get around to finishing that one. Anyway, it was good to meet you, Jacen," he said, sticking his hand out.

Jacen shook his hand. "It was good to meet you as well, Nikui," he said before walking over to another student.

Nikui was about to look for another student to introduce himself to, when he heard a voice behind him.

"You're Nikui, correct? And you're a comedian?"

Nikui turned around and was met with a green-eyed girl with blond hair that was short and tied into a bun.

She was dressed in a sleeveless, wavy, full-length, light pink dress that hugged her curvy figure. The top half of the dress was covered in what appeared to be some-sort of sparkles, and it showed off her rather large breasts.

Nikui struggled to recall if he'd met this girl before. Drawing a blank, he decided to go ahead and ask.

"Yes, that's me. I'm sorry, have we met before?" He asked tentatively.

The girl smiled. "No, we haven't. Chloe mentioned you when we met each other.

Nikui's lips pulled into a slight frown. "Let me guess, she referred to me as her 'jester', didn't she?" He asked dryly.

The girl paused a moment, as if confused at his words, before bursting into laughter. "She does seem like the type to do that, doesn't she?" The girl could barely get through her sentence through her giggling.

Nikui could think of a multitude of other ways to describe Chloe's behavior, but he didn't want to cause a scene. So, as usual, he opted for the most basic of basic responses.

"Yeah. I guess she does," he said, scratching the back of his neck.

The girl managed to stop laughing and straightened herself out, before giving Nikui a big grin. "Anyway, my name is Helen Silvester, and I'm the Premier Ballroom Dancer. It's nice to meet you, Nikui."

Nikui smiled back. "It is good to meet you as well, Helen."

Helen fidgeted awkwardly. "Please tell me whoever brought us here is going to give us clothes to change into. I'd rather not wear this dress 24/7."

Nikui raised a thoughtful hand to his chin. "That is a valid concern," he said. "There's also the matter of if water and food is going to be provided to us. I expect it will, I doubt our captor went through all this trouble just to let us starve."

A brief expression of fear seemed to appear on Helen's face, before quickly being replaced by a smile. "I'm sure the police will find us long before that happens!"

Nikui scratched at the side of his neck. "Let's hope so."

Helen gave him a thumbs up. "They definitely will! For now, we'll just have to wait. Anyway, nice meeting you, Nikui!" The dancer raced off to meet the others, moving with impressive speed for one in a dress.

Nikui looked around the area and saw that most of the others were all engaged in conversation, except for a tall, black haired boy standing off to the side of the plaza, leaning against the side of a building, his head down.

Seeing nobody else available to talk to, Nikui walked over to the boy.

When he neared, the boy raised his head, green eyes narrowed.

The boy was dressed in a simple shirt under a sweater, and wore basic pants and sneakers. The thing about the ensemble was, however, every article of clothing was black, matching the color of his hair.

Nikui extended a hand. "Hello. My name is Nikui Joudan, the Premier Comedian. Nice to meet you."

The boy sighed, but did not shake Nikui's hand. "Matt Saito. Premier Swordsman," the boy spoke in a quick, quiet manner, almost as if he wanted to be done with his sentence as soon as possible.

With that, the swordsman turned and walked away to another part of the square.

Nikui scratched at his neck. _What's with him?_

The comedian was about to try and find another student to talk to, when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Nikui turned around and was met with another boy, this one in a pristine white lab coat, with black hair and striking red eyes covered by a pair of glasses.

"Yes, can I help you? Or do you want to introduce ourselves to each other?" Nikui asked, realizing that the boy must be a fellow student.

The boy gave a curt nod, before responding. "My name is Kasuka Kagami, and I am known as the Premier Psychologist. Pleased to make your acquaintance," the boy said, extending a hand as he did so.

Nikui shook Kasuka's hand. "Likewise. My name is Nikui Joudan, the Premier Comedian."

Kasuka pushed his glasses up, before letting out a long sigh. "I am rather confused by all of this, yet at the same time, rather intrigued."

"I can understand being confused, but why intrigued?" Nikui asked, a curious expression on his face.

Kasuka smiled. "As the Premier Psychologist, I've worked with numerous different people with differing psyches, including a few sociopaths. Yet never have I seen a mind so twisted that it would lead to the abduction of 16 prodigious individuals and the subsequent trapping of them in an unknown location," Kasuka let out a chuckle. "I look forward to seeing what I can learn from this experience, provided that our captor reveals themselves."

Nikui laughed nervously. "I suppose a Premier must always try to improve their talent, and this is a unique situation. I guess I can see why you'd be intrigued."

The psychologist smiled, pushing up his glasses as he did so. "Exactly. For now, however, I must bid you ado. Nice to meet you, Nikui."

Kasuka walked away to talk to the others, and appeared to stop and introduce himself to Jacen.

Nikui scanned the plaza, and spotted a shorter boy appear to finish up a conversation with Helen. Seeing no other available partners, Nikiui walked over to the boy to introduce himself.

The boy was dressed in a traditional chef's outfit, complete with a sushi chef headband, and combat boots, with his chef's coat being open to reveal a light blue tee shirt. His eyes were steel gray in color, and his black hair had flecks of blond highlights, with the hair itself being fashioned into a pompadour.

When he saw Nikui, he held out his hand, as if to stop him, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out what seemed to be some sort of candy.

"Try this," the boy said, tossing over the candy to Nikui, who caught it.

Nikui looked at the candy hesitantly.

"It's chocolate," the boy said. "There's nothing weird in it or anything."

Nikui sighed, before unwrapping the candy and popping it into his mouth. Immediately, his mouth was assaulted by the best tasting chocolate he had ever tasted, the rich sweetness seeming to envelop his entire body.

"Pretty good, right?" The boy asked, a smile on his face.

"Definitely. I've never tasted something so good."

The boy laughed. "Well, that is to be expected from me. I'm Hibiki Watanabe, the Premier Chef."

Nikui gave him a thumbs up. "You certainly deserve that title, Hibiki. My name is Nikui Joudan, the Premier Comedian."

Hibiki looked around the plaza, as if searching for something. He frowned. I don't see any."

"Any what?"

"Exits," Hibiki replied. "I don't see any way in or out of this place."

Nikui looked around and saw that Hibiki was right. "But that doesn't make any sense," Nikui said, a frown forming on his face. "If there are no entrances, how were we brought here?"

Hibiki began to bite his nails nervously. "This is really freaky. Can we just be let out already?"

Nikui sighed. "I pray it's so simple. Though I doubt it will be so."

Hibiki's fingernails continued to be gnawed on. "Y-yeah. We'll just have to w-wait, yeah?"

Nikui nodded. "We will. Nice to meet you, Hibiki."

Hibiki gave a smile, though Nikui could see it was clearly forced. "Nice to meet you as well, Nikui."

Not long after ending his conversation with Hibiki that another student came over to talk to Nikui.

She had tanned skin, and wore a tank top under a tight fitting leather jacket, as well as similar jeans. She had long blond hair, as well as liquid gold eyes that seemed as if they were melting. The strangest thing about her appearance though, was the excessive, and rather tacky, golden bling. Her necklace, the rings on her fingers, her belt buckle, and even to the word "Boss" sewn into the baseball cap situated upon her head, all of it was gold.

She flashed him a peace sign, before speaking in what sounded like a Brazilian accent.

"Yo! I'm Adriana Andrade, the Premier Rapper! Nice to meet ya!" The girl spoke with energy, as if the fact that she was kidnapped and stuffed in an unknown location had not yet caught up with her.

Nikui smiled in a pitiful attempt to match her positivity. "Nice to meet you as well, Adriana. I'm Nikui Joudan, the Premier Comedian."

Adriana crossed her arms and nodded, a grin still present on her face. "A comedian huh? Yeah, yeah, that's sweet! C'mon! Let's break it down, freestyle!"

Nikui gave a small, embarrassed laugh. "I would, but rap music really isn't in my tastes. Plus, my singing voice would probably make a deaf man's ears bleed. Thank you for the offer though."

Adriana shook her head, still smiling. "Nah, nah, it's cool. Some other time then! I'm gonna go meet the others. Nice meeting ya Nikki!" The rapper offered him another peace sign, before racing off to the other side of the plaza.

Nikui scratched at his neck, still slightly puzzled by Adriana's upbeatness. _Nikki huh? Haven't heard that nickname in years._

The comedian turned to see the muscular pony-tailed boy walking up to him, a friendly smile on his face.

"Hiya!" The boy said, upon reaching Nikui. "My name's Aiger Nakano, the Premier Metalworker! Nice to meetcha!"

Nikui was surprised to see someone who was almost as bubbly as Adriana, though he decided to keep that private for now. "Nice to meet you, Aiger. I'm Nikui Joudan, the Premier Comedian."

Aiger was dressed in a white shirt under black suspenders that connected down to his black shorts. His azure blue eyes were clearly visible, as his long brown hair was fashioned into a ponytail that ran most of the way down his back. In addition, a navy blue glove was situated on his left hand to, Nikui assumed, protect him during his work.

Aiger placed his hands on his hips, and gazed up at the towering buildings that surrounded them. "Impressive, aren't they?" He asked, a smile on his face.

"What do you mean?" Nikui asked, slightly confused by his remark.

"Skyscrapers," Aiger said, his tone indicating that he was excited to talk about this. "Think about all of those steel beams supporting it, it's a marvel that they don't collapse. That's what makes metalworking so awesome, y'know?"

Nikui laughed, Aiger's eagerness to talk about his talent, despite the setting was endearing. Though, like with Adriana, Nikui wasn't really sure how Aiger could be so positive in the situation he was in.

"Anyway," Aiger turned back to Nikui. "Nice meeting you, Nikui."

"It was good to meet you as well, Aiger."

The metalworker offered him another large smile, before walking over back towards the center of the plaza.

Nikui briefly scanned the plaza, looking for any available students to meet, when he saw a girl walking towards him.

She had shoulder-length silver blond hair, and bright blue eyes. Her skin was also exceedingly pale, almost giving her a corpse-like appearance. She wore what appeared to be a traditional Swedish military outfit, complete with a three-point hat. A sword, appearing to be some sort of rapier, given its shape, was hung on her belt, rounding out the ensemble.

Nikui gave her a friendly smile. "Hello. I'm Nikui Joudan, the Premier Comedian."

The girl smiled and lowered her hat, before raising it again in a dramatic fashion. "Nice to meet you, Nikui. I am Caroline Augustus, the Premier Carolean Duelist!"

"Carolean duelist? I don't think that's a thing," Nikui responded, not really sure what to make of Caroline.

Caroline pulled her hat down again. "Fine. It's not a thing. I'm actually just the Premier Duelist," she muttered, clearly not happy about having her grand introduction shot down.

Nikui's face formed a rather awkward smile. "That's still a pretty cool talent. What kind of duels do you participate in? Fencing?"

Caroline's smile returned, as she raised her head, blue eyes flashing. "That's just one half of my repertoire! I am also a master marksman, so pistol duels are another of my specialties."

Nikui chuckled. "Well remind me to never get on your bad side."

"Indeed. Doing so would be the last mistake of your life. I trust that you are not so foolish."

On that, the duelist turned and began to walk away, tipping her hat as she did so

"She certainly sounded interesting," a voice sounded behind Nikui, causing him to snap around.

He was met with a blue eyed boy dressed in a navy blue button-up shirt, worn under a vest that alternated between light blue and white vertical stripes, as well as a pair of slacks and a red bowtie. His sandy blond hair was in a buzz cut, but he also had a thick, well groomed handlebar mustache.

"Please don't do that again," Nikui asked, still reeling from the sudden voice. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

The boy frowned. "I apologize. That was not my intention. I will try to better serve you next time. As for the matter of introductions, my name is Morgan Redding, the Premier Barber. Pleased to meet you."

Nikui sighed, before giving Morgan a polite smile. "Nice to meet you, Morgan. I'm Nikui Joudan, the Premier Comedian. And.." Nikui trailed off, not sure if he should finish that thought.

Morgan tilted is head. "And?"

"Is it just me, or do you seem," Nikui paused, trying to decide the best way to phrase his sentence. "Different from when the group was talking earlier?"

Morgan blinked, before smiling politely. "Yes, that is the case. As the Premier Barber, I strive to serve everyone as best I can. Part of that is acting in a manner that would be the most appealing to the person I am talking to, or the in a way that would best fit the group dynamic."

"You don't have to go that far, you know," Nikui said, still not fully understanding Morgan's explanation.

"Very well. If that is what you wish, I will drop the act," Morgan said, though his voice had changed. He was now speaking in a manner that was so monotone, it was unnerving, and his expression had changed to one of utter blankness.

"No, no! You were fine before. No need to change like that. " Nikui hurriedly said, not wanting to hear that dreadful monotone voice again.

Morgan offered another smile. "Very well," he said, voice back to the way it had been at the beginning of the conversation. "Now then, if you will excuse me. I still have a few introductions I still need to make."

With that, he offered a handshake to Nikui, who accepted it, before turning and walking in the direction Caroline had left in, presumably to introduce himself to her.

Nikui turned and looked around the plaza, eyes scanning for the last two students he had still not met. He spotted them together, talking near the fountain. Seeing no better opportunity, he walked over to the both of them.

As he neared, the pair of girls noticed him, and both turned to face him.

The girl on the left had pale blue eyes, and icy white hair fashioned into two drills. She was dressed in what seemed to be a basic black school girl outfit with a pink tie and a white undershirt, with a black skirt reaching to her knees.

The girl on the right had long blond hair and rich chocolate eyes. She was dressed in a camo tee shirt under an unzipped white jacket, as well as frayed blue jeans. She also wore a white ushanka, and had what appeared to be a quiver of arrows and a collapsible bow slung over her shoulder.

"Can we help you?" The girl on the left asked, her icy tone matching her hair.

Nikui laughed nervously. "Yeah. I'm Nikui Joudan, the Premier Comedian. You two are the only ones I haven't met yet, so I came over hoping to introduce myself."

The white haired girl sighed before replying. "My name is Rin Shizuko, the Premier Teacher's Assistant. Nice to meet you, Nikui."

"My name is Luna Skadi," the other girl chimed in. "I'm the Premier Archer."

"Nice to meet you both," Nikui said, though it still looked as if Rin was ready to drill a hole in his stomach with her hair.

Luna smiled warmly. "Yes, nice to meet you, Nikui. I am interested, what kinds of jokes do you tell?"

Nikui was about to respond when the fountain next to him began to rumble, causing him, Luna, and Rin to instinctively back away from it, as well as drawing the attention of the other students.

Sixteen pairs of eyes watched as the fountain began to spew out water, filling the once barren basin with liquid. Suddenly, a platform rose out from the top of the fountain, seemingly being hidden through some sort of contraption. And standing on that platform was… a teddy bear.

However, this teddy bear looked nothing like any teddy bear Nikui had ever seen before. Half of the bear was white, and the face bore a normal expression, save for a monocle that covered the eye. The other half was a deep purple, with a strange red lightning bolt eye and an evil-looking grin. Sitting between the bear's ears was a black top hat, as if the bear had been placed in that fountain during the Victorian Era, only now being brought back to the surface.

Zoey was the first to speak. "What the fuck is that thing?"

"It looks like some kind of teddy bear," answered Jacen, who appeared to be quickly writing something in a small journal.

It was then that the bear did something none of the students expected. It stood up and began to speak.

" **Nyuk, nyuk. Looks like you are all familiar with each other now?"** The bear spoke in a tone that radiated fear. Before it had even finished its sentence, Nikui's entire body was filled with a feeling that he couldn't quite place.

"Who are you?" Caroline shouted, her rapier drawn. "Are you the one who kidnapped us?"

The bear pointed at itself with a paw. **"My name is Shichokuma, the mayor of this town. And you missy, as well as everyone else here, are all my townspeople."** Shichokuma's eye began to glow a crimson red. **"Let's all work together to make this town the best place to be."**

It was then that Nikui was able to place the feeling that he had been unable to. It was despair

* * *

 **Population of Central City: 16**

* * *

 **Review Section**

 **Little max:** _Glad you're liking it so far!_

 **Alter Ego AV:** _Thanks. I'll try to make it interesting for you!_

 **The Celestial Sky Dragon:** _I was worried I would botch her, but I think I've got her under control. Thanks for the support!_

 **McLogal:** _Glad to hear it. I'll try to make it even better from here on in!_

 **Trust Me I'm Me:** _Thanks man! And you're right, none of us are prepared._

 **ThePLOThand:** _Yeah, I had to look up what it meant as well. Don't feel bad about it!_

 _Discord Invite Code:_ bPKs8tK


	4. Chapter 1: Development Plan

**Chapter One: Development Plan**

* * *

 _ **10:15 AM Day One**_

 _ **Central Square**_

The plaza stood silent, except for the gushing of the fountain, as the students struggled to comprehend what Shichokuma had told them.

"What do you mean by that?" Rin asked, her eyes narrowing.

The bear brought a paw up to its mouth before giggling evilly. **"Nyuk, nyuk. A city can't function without residents, right? So basically, you're stuck here until I say so. And I say that you're staying here forever!"**

Nikui's face turned pale. "Forever? You can't do that!"

"That's loco, dude!" Adriana yelled. "No way we're staying here forever!"

Chloe stepped forward, her eyes flaring. "I am not staying here. The very notion is utterly ridiculous."

Shichokuma continued to laugh. **"Oh, but you are. Don't worry, the city is stocked with enough necessities to last more than enough time for you lot to live out the rest of your lives, not to mention plenty of comforts to make your stay enjoyable!"**

"That's not the problem here!" Helen shouted, her voice slightly shaking. "We can't stay in this place! We've got people we need to see!"

"Exactly!" Carolinedeclared, pointing her rapier at Shichokuma. "What's stopping me from slicing you open where you stand?"

" **You can go ahead and try, but I think my little friends will find some holes in that logic,"** the bear said, gesturing with his paws to the roofs of the buildings around them.

Nikui followed his gesture and his eyes widened at the sight of giant turrets, barrels pointed at the cluster of students.

"I assume those are to keep us in line?" Abe asked while crossing his arms.

" **Give the man a prize! Any breaking of the rules will be met with swift and gruesome death. So don't act up if you know what's good for you,"** Shichokuma mused, looking pointedly at Caroline. She reluctantly sheathed her rapier.

Luna scratched her forehead. "Rules? What rules?"

The bear dropped its outstretched paw before turning to look at the archer. **"Don't you worry, miss. All of the rules will be on a little present waiting for you in your individual rooms, which will be found in the hotel right over there."** Shichokuma pointed towards a building off to the side of the plaza.

"So what?" Jacen yelled, his left hand curling into a fist. "You expect us to just live here for the rest of our lives? No way in hell am I doing that!"

" **Woah there, easy now, Mister Nurse Fetish. I never said there wasn't a way out, did I? In fact, there IS a way out - a departure clause, if you will. Or, if you want, a way to win this killing game."**

Jacen's face turned beet red. "I do not have a nurse fetish!"

Rin raised an eyebrow, but otherwise ignored Jacen's outburst. "Well? What is this option to leave?"

" **Simply put, you'll need to off one of your classmates!"** the bear proclaimed, cackling madly as he did so.

Chloe took a hesitant step back. "Do you mean what I think you mean?"

" **If you're thinking murder, then yes! Do it however you'd like. Stabbing, poisoning, bludgeoning, drowing, choking, it's all fair game! I'm not overly picky with how the homicide is dealt out,"** Shichokuma said with a shrug.

"That's insane! You can't just expect us to murder each other!" Aiger yelled. "Besides, that's illegal!"

" **Illegal? In other places, yes. But in this city, it's perfectly fine. It's also the only way to leave, so I'd suggest you put your murder caps on. Or you can just choose to stay here. Either one works for me."** With that, the bear turned and waddled away from the students while cackling madly to himself.

"We're not actually going to kill each other, right?" Shirahime asked nervously, her eyes shifting around the assembled students.

"Of course not," Abe said calmly. "We'll simply have to find another way out. For now, we should go to the hotel and review the rules that the bear mentioned. We might not like it, but for now, we are at his mercy. Following his rules is likely the best course of action."

Morgan nodded. "We should also try to stay calm. Acting rashly will only lead to us accidentally breaking a rule. I am sure the bear would be eager to put us down if we did so."

"There has to be a way to escape other than murder though, right? I mean, we were brought _in_ , so there has to be a way _out_." Luna frowned.  
Matt let out a sigh of annoyance. "I doubt it's so simple. The bear is probably using a mechanical gate or something to keep us in here, and it will likely only open when somebody fulfills his twisted requirement for departure. I highly doubt someone would go through this much trouble to set this up, only to leave an escape route."

Adriana shook her head. "That might be true, dude, but we've still got to try. You know what I'm sayin?"

Caroline took a triumphant step forward, swiping her arm out in a dramatic fashion. "Exactly! We must endeavor to find an exit, even if none appears to be available. If you don't like that, then you can face my blade in a duel!"

Matt turned away from the Duelist. "Please. If we crossed swords, you'd be dead within seconds, and I'd rather not have blood on my hands right now. Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to go find my room." With that, the Swordsman began walking away from the main group and towards the hotel.

"Hey! Don't just walk away when somebody challenges you!" Caroline shouted. The Duelist sprinted after Matt, who, to his credit, held his tongue as the two of them entered the extravagant hotel.

"Should we go to the hotel as well?" Hibiki asked nervously as he began fiddling with his headband.

"We might as well. Won't do us much good sitting around here," Jacen said, as he too began moving in the direction of the hotel.

Abe cleared his throat before speaking loudly. "Let's all move into the hotel; Jacen is right. We gain nothing by twiddling our thumbs."

A general chorus of agreement sounded through the students as the group began to trickle towards the hotel.

Nikui jogged up towards the front of the group, where Abe was walking. "How do you do it?" he asked.

Abe turned and gave him a puzzled look as they continued walking. "What do you mean? How do I do what?"

Nikui laughed, realizing that he hadn't quite conveyed what he was trying to ask. "I mean, how do you just get people to follow you, I guess?"

Abe paused for a moment, before giving Nikui a small smile. "Simply put, I'm a politician. It's my duty to lead."

* * *

 _ **10:24 AM Day One**_

 _ **Hotel Floor One(Lobby)**_

Aiger let out a long whistle as he and the other students gazed around the hotel lobby. "Well, I don't think the bear was lying when he said we'd have comfort."

The room was lavishly decorated, with a fancy wooden receptionist's desk situated at the back next to an elevator, as well as comfortable-looking chairs and cushions organized around a couple of glass tables. A pair of advanced-looking televisions were fixed to opposite walls above two identical artificial fireplaces. The floor was covered in an elegant red velvet carpet with intricate golden swirling designs woven into the fabric. A door, perhaps to a dining hall of some sort, was also located at the back end of the room.

Nikui walked over towards the elevator and noticed a simple wooden table. Several keys were laid out on it, each bearing what appeared to be the pixelated likeness of the students. Notably, Matt's and Caroline's were both missing, presumably being taken to their respective rooms.

Nikui sighed, picked up his key, and placed it into his pocket.

"So, what do we do now?" Rin asked as she also picked up her key.

"Shichokuma said that we would find a present in our rooms, right?" Shirahime asked. "So, do we go to them?"

"I don't see any reason we shouldn't," Kasuka mused with a shrug as he walked over to collect his key. "The bear did make note of the fact that the rules are on said present. Thus, if we want to know the rules, we need to go to our respective rooms."

"Precisely," Abe spoke up, addressing the full group of students. "Let's all take some time to go to our individual rooms, and reconvene in the adjacent dining room at," he paused to look at a clock that was hung behind the receptionist's desk. "11:00. From there, we'll decide the best way to proceed."

"I guess that makes sense," Zoey said, as she rubbed the back of her neck. "But where even are our rooms? I don't see a room number on this thing."

" **Let me answer that one!"**

Nikui whipped around towards the receptionist's desk where Shichokuma now stood, pointing at Zoey.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Chloe asked, her already-trademark scowl forming on her face.

Shichokuma's arms dropped in mock dejection. **"Jeez, the youth these days. You be so kind as to give them a hotel to stay in and even offer to show them their rooms, but all they do is curse you for existing."**

"Just answer my question, you dumb bear!" Zoey yelled, tapping her foot in impatience.

" **Alright, alright, sheesh. Basically, each of you gets an entire floor to yourselves. The buttons in the elevator correspond to the pictures on your key, so finding your floor shouldn't be that hard."** With that, the purple-and-white bear turned and walked out of the hotel, his mad cackle sounding the room as he left.

"Alright then. C'mon everyone, let's go," Helen said with a smile, gesturing towards the elevator with her key as she pushed the up button, causing the elevator's doors to slide open.

Nikui's eyes widened in surprise as the students began to pile into the elevator. The elevator was much larger than the standard-sized door seemed to indicate. There was easily enough room for all fourteen students to fit with plenty of space to spare. The buttons, true to Schichokuma's word, had images on them rather than numbers, with the pictures matching those found on the room keys. Nikui noticed that his button was at the very bottom, whereas Luna's was at the very top.

Jacen, who stood closest to the buttons, checked to make sure everyone was in the elevator before pressing the button for every student.

The elevator doors slid closed, and the students began to rise.

* * *

 _ **10:30 AM**_

 _ **Hotel Floor Two(Nikui Joudan's floor)**_

After a rather short elevator ride, Nikui found himself standing in a hallway devoid of decorations, save for a plain wooden door bearing the same pixelated image of himself that was on his key.

Nikui cautiously stepped forward,unlocked the door, and pushed it open. Stepping into the hotel room, Nikui was slightly shocked at how large and extravagant it was. Much like the lobby, the room's floor was covered by a fancy red carpet, with a pair of wide windows on opposite walls, being covered by purple drapes. At the far end of the room there was a large four-poster bed with a nightstand on both sides. In addition, a small table and a pair of chairs sat next to both windows. A door leading to what presumably was a bathroom was located next to an open closet, in which, Nikui saw were multiple copies of the outfit he currently had on, as well as a few shirts in different colors.

Nikui flopped on the bed and stared at the ceiling, suddenly feeling very tired. The past hour had been a complete whirlwind, from waking up on the bus to meeting the other ultimates to Shichokuma's appearance and the declaration of a killing game. It felt as if nothing was real, as if he was going to wake up from this crazy dream any moment now. But he didn't. Nikui would just have to accept that this was his reality now.

Sighing, the comedian rolled over, noticing a small, black, smartphone like device resting on the nightstand. He reached out to grab it, and gave it a slight tap. Instantly, the screen lit up, with the display showing his name and talent, before fading in on what appeared to be a map of the city. Weirdly, most of it was grayed out. _Is this the present that Schichokuma mentioned? If it is, I should be able to see the rules on this thing, right?_

Nikui noticed a small button on the top of the device, with the word "Laws" on it. Making an educated guess as to its purpose, he gave it a slight tap. The screen flickered briefly, before the display changed to show a list of rules. Nikui read them over, the knot in his stomach growing steadily as he did so.

 **City Laws**

 **Citizens may only reside within the city. Leaving is an unacceptable use of time.**

" **Nighttime" is from 11 PM to 7 AM. Some areas will be locked off during nighttime, as will all running water in hotel rooms.**

 **Sleeping anywhere other than a hotel room will be considered loitering and will be punished accordingly.**

 **With minimal restrictions, citizens are free to explore the city at their discretion.**

 **Any act of violence against Mayor Shichokuma is strictly prohibited.**

 **Anyone who kills a fellow citizen will become "blackened" and will be allowed to leave, should they avoid detection.**

 **After a murder occurs, citizens will be given a brief period to investigate, and will then be taken to a city trial.**

 **Participation in the city trial is mandatory for all surviving citizens**

 **If the blackened is found guilty during the city trial, they alone will be punished for their crime.**

 **If the blackened cannot be correctly identified, all other citizens will be punished, and the blackened will be free to leave the city.**

 **This Kumapad is a very important item. Please take care not to lose it.**

 **Mayor Shichokuma shall never directly participate in a murder.**

 **The Mayor may add rules at their own discretion.**

Nikui's brow furrowed at the multiple mentions of "punishment". _Does that refer to the turrets we saw before? That's really messed up. Though, I guess everything about this is messed up._

Nikui was shaken out of his thoughts by a sudden knock at his door.

"Coming!" Nikui got up, putting his Kumapad into his pocket as he did so.

The comedian opened the door to find that Helen had been the one to knock. Apparently, Schichokuma had granted her request of having a change of clothes, as the Dancer was now dressed in a more simple blue tee shirt under a gray jacket, as well as a medium length black skirt. Her ballroom shoes had also been traded out for more plain black sneakers.

Nikui gave her a small smile. "Oh hello, Helen. Did you need me for something?"

The Dancer nodded. "Yeah. It's time for all of us to meet back in the dining hall. You were the only one who didn't show up, so I came here to come get you."

Nikui felt his face heat up in embarrassment. "O-oh right. Sorry for forgetting."

"No worries! We all forget things from time, don't we?" Helen let out a laugh. "Boy, you should see me when I'm dancing. I get so invested in it that sometimes I even forget to eat!"

Nikui laughed with her. "That'd sure be a sight to see. Well then, shall we go to the dining hall?"

Helen gave a thumbs up. "Yup! Let's go!"

* * *

 _ **11:05 AM**_

 _ **Hotel Floor One(Dining Hall)**_

The dining hall was very much like the rest of the hotel; a fancy red carpet with extravagant windows. An open kitchen window was at the back of the room, with an adjacent door to enter. Most of the space in the room was taken by a large oval-shaped table with sixteen chairs around it, though a few smaller tables dotted the remaining space.

"Ah good. We're all here now," Abe noted, noticing Helen and Nikui's arrival.

"Finally," Matt said with a sigh, from his position in the far corner.

"So what do we do now?" Luna asked, tilting her head to the side.

Caroline smirked, before standing up dramatically. "Simple! We review the rules that were laid out for us on the Kumapad!"

Kasuka let out a mirthful chuckle. "My thoughts exactly. I'm most curious about the meaning of 'punishment', though, given our previous interactions with out captor, I think the implication is clear."

" **Aw boo. You understanding what I mean takes the fun out of explaining it to you losers."**

Standing on the kitchen counter was none other than Schichokuma, though the bear had his back turned to the students and appeared to be sulking.

"Just tell us what you mean," Chloe retorted, letting out a huff of annoyance.

" **Gladly!"** Shichokuma turned around, posing dramatically. **"Punishment is simple: execution!"**

Jacen stood up angrily, his eyes flaring. "What the hell? You can't just do that!"

Shichokuma laughed, bringing up his paws to his mouth. **"Don't worry your little head off. As long as you follow the rules, you'll be fine. But if you do end up breaking them, well, I'll get to have a little fun with you."**

The bear began to back up, before toppling over the counter and into the kitchen, disappearing from sight.

Hibiki fiddled with his headband nervously. "So all we have to do is follow the rules until we're rescued, right?"

Aiger gave a wide smile and pounded his left fist into his right palm. "Exactly. For now, let's get to seeing the rest of this place! I'm sure there's all kinds of cool building structures here!"

"That's not what's important right now," Rin snapped, throwing the Metalworker her trademark icy stare. "We still have things to go over. The most pressing being the 'city trial' that was mentioned several times in the rules."

Morgan nodded. "The notion of sentencing our classmates to death seems a bit extreme. Though I suppose doing so would be the better result than having all but one of us die."

"That's just it though," Zoey cautioned, folding her arms. "None of us have talents relating in any way to investigation. So an investigation would likely lead to all of us dying, with the only one surviving being the asshole who did it."

Shirahime frowned, before slowly pulling her mask over her face. "Let's maintain our composure," the Kunoichi's voice had taken on a colder, more serious tone. "We are all going to survive this twisted game. By any means necessary."

"This is just ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous,"Chloe hissed. "The very concept of this sick game makes me want to see someone throw a chair across the room."

Suddenly, a loud crash sounded throughout the dining room. It took the students a collective moment to realize that Morgan had indeed thrown a chair across the room.

"What the hell, dude!?" Jacen yelled in a mix of fear and shock. The chair had barely missed hitting him square in the face.

The Barber gave a small bow. "My apologies. There was an instruction to throw a chair across the room, so I fulfilled it."

"Well then don't take instructions from Bitchy Bee over there," the Writer spat, scratching at the back of his neck.

"Excuse me? What the hell did you just say?" Chloe shouted, her eyes burning in rage.

Abe coughed loudly, stepping in between the Writer and the Queen Bee. "As, uh, interesting this is, we should probably now move to explore our surroundings. Being familiar with the area will likely help us in the future."

"That's what I said earlier!" Aiger suddenly shouted, a grin of excitement making its way onto his face. "Man, I can't wait to check out all of the building structures they've got here!"

"That's still not the point here," Rin said, sighing in exasperation.

"Regardless of our motivation for doing so, I do think we should take the time to look around," Kasuka mused, pushing up his glasses. "As Abe said, the knowledge will no doubt prove useful to us."

"Right," Nikui nodded. "Well then, let's go." With that, the Comedian turned and began to walk out of the hotel, trying desperately to fight the growing nervousness rising within him.

* * *

 **Population of Central City of Despair: 16**

* * *

 **Review Section**

 **BirblordAlmighty** : _Not sure what I did, but whatever! *Bows dramatically*_

 **Little max:** _Evil teddy bears are best teddy bears._

 **The Celestial Sky Dragon** : _Glad you're liking the cast so far!_

 **McLogal** : _Thanks, man. Was kinda worried about screwing her up._

 **JCW18** : _Indeed, the game has begun. Now the fun stuff happens._

 **danieltruong1917** : _Well, Kasuka is here. I'm sure he could be of some help, right? Right?_

 **ThePLOThand** : _Sacrilege? My friend, how can anything be sacrilegious if nothing is sacred?_

 **dougcupcake** : _Well, healthy suspicion is always a good thing to have. Glad you're liking the cast!_

Legacy of Despair Discord Invite Code: _bPKs8tK_


	5. Chapter 2: Tour

**A/N: Due to me deleting a prior chapter, those who reviewed the previous chapter won't be able to in this one. If you wish to review, please do so as a guest, and sign your name at the bottom, so I know who's who in the next Review Section. Thanks!**

 **Chapter 2: Tour**

* * *

 _ **11:45 AM Day One**_

 _ **Performance Hall**_

Helen let out a squeal of excitement as she pranced and twirled around the room. The large performance hall was located in a large dome-shaped building a little ways off from the hotel. Besides the large dance floor that took up the majority of the space, a small stage was set up near the back of the room with a few tables and chairs situated around it. In addition, a small snack stand had been set up, which displayed boxes of candy and even had a popcorn machine.

Kasuka let out a mirthful chuckle. "Well, looks like we know where she'll be spending her time."

Adriana gave a wide smile. "Don't know about you, man, but I'm thinking of all kinds of things we could do on that stage. Oh! Maybe Nikki could feed me jokes and I could rap them! That'd be so cool!" The rapper folded her arms, closed her eyes, and began to tick her head from side to side as if imagining a rhythm for her new idea.

"Aw man. Domes are so cool! It's just so amazing how they're built! First they have to-" Aiger began excitedly, gazing in awe at the dome of the building.

"Not to be rude, but nobody cares, man," Adriana retorted, not bothering to open her eyes and look at the Metalworker.

"B-But they're so cool!" Aiger stammered, before his face fell in dejection. Sulking, the Metalworker made his way to the snack stand and began to console himself with a small bucket of popcorn.

"Still, though, I am surprised at this," Kaskuka mused, gazing around the room.

"Surprised at what?" Helen asked, jogging back over to the group, her forehead slick with sweat.

"The fact that such a facility is being made available to us." Kasuka frowned and raised a hand to his chin. "Though, perhaps it's our captor's way of enticing us to stay here. But then why act as if he wants us to kill?" The Psychologist let out a chuckle. "This will prove most interesting."

"I'm gonna be honest with you, man. It's kinda creepy when you do that. Chuckling to yourself, I mean," Aiger said in between bites of popcorn.

"I wasn't aware that it put you off. Apologies." Kasuka gave a small bow.

"You know, Aiger," Adriana began, with a smirk, "you're pretty nice-looking. Maybe you could, I don't know, make me a 'special sword'?" The Rapper leaned in with an over-exaggerated wink, then pulled back and burst into a fit of laughter.

Aiger's eyes lit up in excitement. "A sword? I love making swords! But what kind of metal? What length? One-handed or two? Is there even a forge here?"

Kasuka and Helen's eyes widened in utter bewilderment as Aiger continued to blabber excitedly about making a sword.

"He's joking, right?" Helen asked incredulously. "There's no way he can be _that_ naive, right?"

"No, I think he's just that naive," Kasuka answered in a completely flat tone.

Adriana, meanwhile, was still laughing, clutching her sides in a futile effort to keep the giggles from escaping her mouth.

"Say, can I have your popcorn, Aiger? I'm famished." Helen asked, eyeing the bucket that still rested in the Metalworker's hands.

"What? No," Aiger responded, looking slightly dumbfounded.

"Give it!" Helen's hand shot out to grab the popcorn, prompting Aiger to instinctively back away and out of reach.

"You do realize that there is a popcorn machine over there, right?" Kasuka asked as he raised an eyebrow.

Helen paused, pulling back her hand to awkwardly scratch at her forehead. "Yeah, sorry. I was kind of spoiled growing up, and it's led to a few bad habits. I'm trying to get past them though."

"It's okay, Helen," Aiger replied, a huge grin on his face. "This popcorn is amazing. I don't blame you for wanting some. Oh! Do you know how popcorn machines are made? I can tell you if you'd like! First they-"

The other three students watched in disbelief as Aiger started to babble again, this time about popcorn machines.

Kasuka let out a sigh. "Well, we've seen all we can here. We should probably move to explore other areas."

"You guys can go do that. I'm going to stay here and get some dance practice in!" Without waiting for a response, the Dancer raced back over to the dance floor and began to prance about once more.

Adriana rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Guess we're down a member. C'mon, Popcorn. We're going."

Aiger paused in his rambling and looked up in confusion. "Huh? Are you talking to me?"

"Yup! Now c'mon!"

Kasuka let out another sigh as the three of them left the Performance Hall, leaving Helen to her dance practice.

* * *

 _ **11:53 AM Day One**_

 _ **City Streets (Northern Side)**_

Rin let out a small "tch" of annoyance as she and Abe found yet another building with no entrance.

"I guess we should've expected this." The Politician let out a sigh. "Given the sheer size of this place, it makes sense that not all of these buildings are accessible."

Rin merely nodded as they continued to walk down the street.

After a few minutes, Abe broke the silence. "Regarding the buildings, do you think it's possible that they were purposely constructed to not be accessible?"

The Teacher's Assistant paused, surveyed the area, and brought a hand to her chin in thought. "That does make sense, actually. I've noticed that many of the inaccessible buildings are very similar in design and structure. I'm beginning to think that this isn't a real city. Perhaps it's more of a model?"

"Perhaps. Although, if that is the case, then what was the original purpose of this city? An experiment of sorts?"

Rin closed her eyes and shook her head. "I doubt it. From my perspective, it seems that this place was built specifically for us."

"What makes you say that?"

"For one thing, the hotel. I don't think a normal hotel would have exactly seventeen floors, nor would said hotel have only one room on each floor. Plus, there is the matter of the inaccessible buildings. Perhaps this twisted game is the experiment you hypothesised."

"If that's the case, then how are they monitoring us? I haven't seen a single camera since we arrived." Abe scanned the area, as if looking for some monitoring device.

"The ones who set this up could be using a different means of keeping tabs on us. Maybe there's someone on the inside."

The air grew heavy as Abe fell silent, taking in what Rin had said. "I hope you're not implying that one of us is a traitor."

Rin's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Given our previous theory, whoever is running this game must have some way of monitoring us. After all, why run an experiment if you can't see the results? Additionally, the lack of cameras or other devices that could monitor us seems to indicate a different means. A human camera, if you will. A mole."

Abe folded his arms with a frown. "That assumes that our hypothesis is true. For all we know, this isn't an experiment. Rather, it could simply be the twisted workings of a madman."

"But then how do you explain the hotel? Or the fact that setting this game up would be impossible for a sole individual? Face it, we've been trapped by some sort of organization. And it's very real that someone here is feeding information to that organization."

Abe gave a slight scowl. "I won't deny that possibility. However, if we begin to irrationally suspect others, our group will unravel at the seams. That would be the worst possible outcome. Rin, I'll tell you this: healthy caution is fine, but we can't simply suspect others based off of a theory."

The icy-haired girl sighed before turning away. "Fine, then. But I'm still going to be watching out for suspicious behavior."

"I didn't mean to insult you. I think sharing our ideas is a good idea, but I feel as if we shouldn't share this theory with the others quite yet. We don't want undue panic. Perhaps we should talk about this again privately some other time?"

A faint smile pulled at Rin's lips. "Yes, we should. For now though, we should focus on exploring."

Abe chuckled lightly. "Well then, lead the way."

The pair walked off, searching for answers in the unknown city.

* * *

 _ **12:07 PM Day One**_

 _ **City Gate (West Side)**_

"So, this is what's keeping us locked in here?" Luna asked, staring at the colossal gate that stood at the western edge of the city.

"Uhh, yeah. That seems to be the, uhh, case," Hibiki responded awkwardly.

The Archer narrowed her eyes. She stepped back, uncollapsed her bow, and tied a length of cord to an arrow before she nocked it.

"Uhh, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm seeing if I can use an arrow to create a way to climb up and over the gate," Luna explained matter of factly.

"Will that work?"

Luna rolled her eyes. "Won't know until I try, eh?"

The blond turned her attention to the wall, and with a sharp exhale, launched the arrow towards the top of it.

Hibiki watched in wonder as the arrow soared up, up, and… bounced harmlessly off the top of the wall, plummeting back down on the side he and Luna were on.

"Shit," Luna cursed under her breath before walking over to collect the coil off of the broken arrow.

" **Nyuk, nyuk. A good effort, lass, but that was never gonna work."**

The pair spun around to find Shichokuma waddling over to them.

"What do you want?" Luna asked, her eyes narrowing.

The bear shrugged. **"Sheesh. Can't a mayor congratulate his citizens on a good attempt? Guess not."**

"We don't need for you to 'congratulate' us. Why don't you just let us out of this place!" Hibiki yelled, glaring angrily at Shichokuma.

" **Can't do that, I'm afraid."** The bear let out a loud laugh. **"You could always off a fellow citizen. That'd be a sure way out of here!"**

Luna scoffed, turning away from the bear to look back at the gate.

"That isn't going to happen. We'll find a way to get over that gate and out of this wretched city," the Archer said, folding her arms.

" **Good idea, lass. Though, I hate to break it to you; that gate doesn't even lead outside! Nyuk, nyuk!"** The bear began to cackle once more.

Luna turned back to face Shichokuma. "Doesn't lead outside? Where does it lead then?"

" **Excellent question. That gate leads to another district in this city!"**

"Another district?" Hibiki nervously fiddled with his headband.

" **Exactly! What kind of city would have only one district? They'll be closed off for now, but who knows? Get through a city trial and you may find your horizons expanding! Maybe you'll find something important in another district. Who can say, really?"** Shichokuma burst into yet another fit of cackling.

 **Location Updated!**

"So you plan to entice us to murder each other with the possible discovery of a way out? What reason do we have to believe anything you tell us?" Luna asked, her frown deepening.

" **Well, you don't, really. But bears never lie, so I'd pay attention to what your mayor tells you, lass!"** The bear turned and waddled away, his cackling laugh echoing in the silent streets.

"I, uhh, guess we should tell the others about this?" Hibiki asked, his eyes shifting around, as if Shichokuma might return any second.

"We'll be meeting up later, we can tell them then. For now, let's just focus on continuing to explore. There's still a lot of ground to cover." Luna began to walk away, her long blond hair billowing in the wind.

"R-Right!" Hibiki jogged slightly to catch up with her, and the pair continued their investigation.

* * *

 _ **12:10 PM Day One**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Library (Main Room)**_

Jacen let out a whistle as he gazed around the expansive library. There were rows upon rows of shelves, each stacked end-to-end with books of varying sizes. Shelves also lined the walls from end-to-end, with the only gap being a small door towards the back, labeled "Archive." A few tables had also been set up in a corner, lamps resting on top of them, likely for late-night reading. In addition, a small lounge area had been set up away from the bookshelves, with a few more tables nearby.

"Well, I guess we won't be starved for things to do here," the Writer mused, looking over a row of books. "It would take us years to get through this all."

Chloe scoffed from her position near the entrance. "As if I'm going to spend my time looking for a musty book in this pigsty. Morgan!" the Queen Bee snapped at the aforementioned Barber, who was examining a shelf. "Get me a book that I'll find entertaining. And be quick about it!"

Morgan didn't move. He continued to examine the row of books.

Chloe's eyes flared angrily. "Excuse me, I gave you an instruction! Don't you follow those? Get to finding me a book, dammit!"

The Barber turned to her before giving her a small bow. "I apologize, but that contradicts a previous instruction to not follow any instructions given by you."

"Well then, here's a new instruction: ignore anything that was ever told to you by Writer Boy. Got it?"

"Understood. I shall no longer adhere to his previous instruction."

Chloe smirked victoriously. "Now then, fetch me a book that'll entertain me. Oh, and while you're at it, throw a book or two at Writer Boy." The Queen Bee walked over and sat down at one of the nearby tables as Jacen frantically dove out of the way of the encyclopedia that had been thrown straight at him.

Shirahime, who had been quietly watching the entire scene play out, let out a soft sigh as she returned to examining the row of books in front of her. The books seemed normal. They were sorted by alphabetical order in a variety of a different genres ranging from science-fiction to fantasy. Everything was covered. From what the Kunoichi had seen, fiction works were stored in the central bookshelves, whereas nonfiction works filled the bookcases on the walls. As Shirahime was about to walk over towards the archive, she noticed a small manilla folder sticking out of the shelf. Cautiously, she pulled it out, and read the label: "Hostages." Shirahime felt her blood run cold. Before she could open it, she heard a voice ask her, "What the hell is that?"

Shirahime looked up to see Jacen standing near her, pointing at the folder. The Kunoichi shook her head. "I-I don't know. I j-just found it here. W-Where are the others?"

Jacen let out a sigh. "Bitchy Bee is still over there running Morgan around the place. I'm just trying to avoid her so I don't get another object thrown my way. Still, though, what is that folder?"

" **Allow me to answer that question!"**

Shirahime nearly jumped out of her skin and Jacen let out a groan of annoyance as the pair saw Shichokuma jumping down from one of the bookshelves.

"What do you want with us?" the Writer spat, crossing his arms.

" **Why, I'm here to explain that folder right there! It contains information on the most important person in each of your sorry lives, plus a few pics to show what's happening to them right now. I guess you could say that they're in a bit of a pickle! Nyuk nyuk nyuk!"**

Shirahime took a nervous step back. "Y-You're holding our families hostage t-to get us to participate in your twisted g-game?"

The bear snickered. **"Basically! Though, I ain't going to be doing anything with 'em quite yet. Just think of it as a continuing motive, something to keep a fire going under your seats, if you will. Of course, you could always hide that folder. But that wouldn't be very honest of you, now would it?"** The bear turned and walked away, chortling to himself as he did so.

Jacen scratched at his neck before turning to face Shirahime. "So what do we do now? Do we tell the others?"

Shirahime shook her head and pulled her mask down over her face. "No, I believe that wouldn't be the right course of action. That would only cause panic, and may lead to somebody going through with murder. Furthermore, we don't even know if this threat is valid."

Jacen shrugged. "I guess you're right. Let's just hide it for now. Out of sight, out of mind as they say."

Shirahime nodded as she tucked the folder back into the bookcase, covering it up with a few loose books. "Though, I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried. If what Shichokuma said is true, then people I care about are in danger right now." The Kunoichi's body trembled as she forced down a gulp. "I really hope they're all okay."

Jacen frowned and closed his eyes. "I understand. There are people in my life that are likely in that folder, but that's exactly why we can't show this to anyone else. Someone might be easily tempted into murder. That's the last thing we need right now."

"You're right," Shirahime said with a small smile as she slowly removed her mask. "So, do we look at the archive now?"

Jacen let out a sigh. "I wish we could, but the door's locked. We're not getting through that right now."

The white-haired girl let out a small huff of annoyance. "If that's the case, we should probably leave. There are other areas to explore after all."

Upon reaching the front of the library, the pair looked over to where Chloe had sat down earlier. The Queen Bee was still there, reading a rather thin book. Morgan was kneeling in front of her, giving what appeared to be a pedicure.

Jacen rolled his eyes in annoyance. "C'mon, you two, we're leaving. We've got other places to be."

Almost immediately, Morgan stood up and walked over to Shirahime and Jacen, Chloe's pedicure being unceremoniously forgotten.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Chloe screeched at the Barber, throwing her book to the side.

Before Morgan could respond, Jacen cut in. "Don't listen to her. Let's just go."

The trio began to walk out of the library. Scowling, Chloe hastily put her shoes on and chased after the group.

* * *

 _ **12:23 PM Day One**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Theater**_

Nikui folded his arms as he looked around the theater. As expected of a typical theater, a large projector screen was set up with rows of seats being set up facing it. The Comedian sighed as he counted sixteen seats, exactly enough for everyone. He hated sitting next to people in movie theaters.

Nikui looked up towards the projector room at the back of the theater, where Matt and Caroline were currently investigating. Well, Matt was investigating. Caroline was just trying to get his attention, but to no avail. Zoey, meanwhile, was standing in the front of the room, looking up at the projector screen and munching on a small chocolate she had gotten from the theater lobby. The lobby had also been normal, featuring a ticket stand run - that the students had ignored completely - and a typical snack stand featuring candy and popcorn.

None of it made sense to Nikui. _Why would the bear try and get us to kill each other, and then give us all of these comforts? Those two ideas seem completely contradictory._

The Comedian scratched at the back of his head as Matt and Caroline made their way down from the projector room. "Find anything up there?" he asked, turning to face the pair.

"Not much," Matt replied, shaking his head. "Save for a projector and a couple of bear-themed knock off movies, I didn't see anything important."

"Nothing down here either," Zoey said, walking over to the trio.

"You know what this means, right?" Caroline said with a smirk. "It means that there must be something important in those movies! We shall watch them all at once!" The Duelist posed dramatically before sprinting back to the projector room. Within moments, a beam of light escaped the projector as a movie began to play.

Shrugging, Zoey plopped herself down in a seat. Nikui followed, sitting in the row behind her. Matt rolled his eyes, but sat down in the furthest row back, anyway. Moments later, Caroline emerged from the projection room and practically flew into the seat next to Matt. The Swordsman immediately stood up and moved to the row in front of him. Caroline pouted, but didn't move.

After a few nonsensical trailers - each promised "Schichokuma's Exciting Adventure in a TV!" - the movie finally began.

The next hour-and-a-half could only be described as a very, very painful experience. Nikui tried his best to follow the plot of "Shicokuma's Marvelous Journey As A Door," which he guessed was trying to be a mystery-action film of sorts. However, it boiled down to nothing more than Shichokuma repeatedly making the same stupid bear puns while shooting himself in the head, rather than the monsters.

After the credits rolled and the projector shut off, the Premiers sat in a collective silence for a few minutes, trying to comprehend what they had just watched. It was Matt who spoke up first. "Well that was a complete and utter waste of time." He stood up and began to walk over to the exit.

"Agreed," Zoey replied as she too made her way out of the theater.

Nikui sighed before getting up and exiting the theater himself. Caroline followed, and the group left the theater building to continue its search of the city, albeit grumbling about the torture they had just sat through.

* * *

 _ **4:00 PM Day One**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Hotel(Dining Hall)**_

The dining hall was abuzz with chatter regarding what each group had found as the Premiers sat around the various tables, enjoying a delectable meal prepared for them by Hibiki.

Aiger let out a blissful sigh as he swallowed another bite of his curry. "Oh man, this is so good! Spicy food is the best! Oh, is that a fork?" the Metalworker asked, pointing at Matt's fork, as the Swordsman was sitting next to him. "Did you know that the first metal fork was made during the Shang Dynasty in China? Is that cool or what?"

Matt rolled his eyes, picked up his plate, and moved to another table in the corner.

"Hey, where are you going? Don't you want to know about the first metal forks?" Aiger called after him, but to no avail.

"...So that's basically my idea. Cool, right?" Adriana asked Nikui with a smile as the Comedian quitely ate his ramen.

"I don't know, sorry," he responded, awkwardly scratching at his neck. "I don't really think that my comedy is suitable for rapping, or that it would even work, for that matter."

The Rapper pouted. "Well that's no fun. C'mon, at least give me a joke."

Nikui gave a small chuckle. "Alright then." The Comedian cleared his throat before going into his joke. "People always ask why the chicken is crossing the road, right? But I think the question should really be, _how_ is the chicken crossing the road? Have you ever seen a chicken? Those things run around like they've got no head, even when they _do_ have their heads! It's ridiculous!" The entire cafeteria burst into laughter as Nikui realized with a start that he had been a bit louder than he had intended. Aiger and Helen were both pounding the table in hysterics and even Matt let out a chuckle.

" **Nyuk, nyuk. Well aren't you a funny guy?"**

The light-hearted feel of the room was almost immediately gone as the students looked over to see Shichokuma once again standing on the kitchen counter.

"What are you doing here?" Zoey asked with a scowl as she looked at the bear.

" **Wow. Can't even show my face without getting flack from you guys. It breaks this bear's heart. It truly does."**

Rin let out a huff of annoyance. "Just tell us what you're here for already."

" **Fine, fine. I'm here to give you your first motive!"**

As the bear threw his arms out dramatically, Nikui could've sworn he saw Jacen exchange a quick glance with Shirahime, who had once again put her mask on.

"A motive?" Abe asked, folding his arms. "What are you playing at?"

" **Teens these days never do anything without a little motivation, don't they? So this is my way of getting this game rolling!"** The bear tossed a box containing what appeared to be glasses of some kind onto the table. **"Introducing: The Flurry Motive! During this motive, wearing of those glasses is strictly required. For you see, these glasses have special Augmented Reality lenses. Whenever the person wearing them is outside, the lenses will simulate a light snowstorm. For every hour where a murder does not take place, the storm will grow in intensity, until it's so thick that it's impossible to see anything outside at all!"** The bear went into his signature mad cackle.

Kasuka raised an eyebrow. "So? We have everything we need to live in the hotel. There's no real need to go outside at all."

Shichokuma's eye began to glow maliciously. **"That's the second part of this motive. As long as the motive is in effect, all eating must be done in the Library's Lounge area. Eating popcorn in the theater is also allowed. But nothing else."**

The Dining Room fell silent as the Premiers took in what they had been told.

"It seems that the true motivator here is starvation. Starvation by means of being unable to get to the one place where we can eat," Luna mused, raising a hand to her chin.

" **Exactly! Now come get your specs! I'll be punishing anyone who doesn't have them on within the next three minutes! Oh, and before any of you get cheeky, lowering the glasses in order to bypass the snowstorm counts as taking them off, and you will be punished for it! Now get those glasses on, pronto!"**

Stifling a nervous gulp, Nikui slowly grabbed a pair of glasses and put them on. He closed his eyes, trying to fight the rising panic within him. The chips were down. The game had truly begun.

* * *

 **Population of Central City: 16**

* * *

 **Review Section**

 **ShinyOshawottKing** : _Glad you're excited, man!_

 **Little max:** _Will the tensions between Chloe and Jacen result in bloodshed? Find out now!(Not really)_

 **The Celestial Sky Dragon:** _What are you talking about? He doesn't have a nurse fetish. Weren't you paying attention?_

 **BirblordAlmighty** : T _hat is my new favorite saying. I'm stealing that._

 **Danieltruong1917** : _Sounds like somebody's been listening to Hamilton recently. ;)_

 **The Kobold Necromancer:** _Haven't you heard? Chairs are the now the deadliest thing in the universe. Jacen is a lucky boy._

 **JCW18** : _Well what can you expect? Someone had to point it out. XD_

 **McLogal** : _*Stares back*_

 **Dougcupcake** : _He's not suspicious. He's just trying to be nice. ;)_


	6. Chapter 3: Flurry: Part One

**Chapter 3: Flurry:Part One**

* * *

 _ **4:10 PM Day One**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Hotel (Dining Hall)**_

The dining hall was quiet as the students contemplated their situation. All of them had the glasses on, and a quick look outside proved that the glasses would indeed show a snowstorm, though currently it was very light.

"So what happens now?" Helen asked, her emerald eyes darting back and forth across the room from behind the rim of her glasses.

Abe cleared his throat. "I think we should focus on learning the route from the dining hall to the library as best we can, especially when the snow picks up. Given the current intensity of the storm, we'll be able to see until roughly 2:00 AM, by my estimate."

Shirahime timidly raised a hand from the back of the room. "I-If it helps, I-I can s-see well in snow. B-But I'm not sure how well that w-will work with these g-glasses."

The Politician nodded in her direction. "Right. We should keep that in mind. For now, trying to memorize the route to the library won't be helpful, given that the snow barely impedes our vision. I would suggest we take an hour or two to relax and collect ourselves. It wouldn't be good for us to all get over-panicked."

Hibiki gave a large groan as he emerged from the kitchen, once again fiddling with his headband. "No luck in finding anything to store food in. We'll have to carry food over on open plates, which will only add to our troubles."

Matt let out a sigh. "Perfect. The bear has made it especially difficult for us."

"I mean, it's not like there's any real snow or wind to ruin any food we carry over, right?" Jacen asked, stepping forward. "So the only real danger for the food is us tripping or running into things, right?"

Rin nodded. "Exactly. However, not being able to see anything will add complications."

"Aren't there stairs in front of the library as well?" Aiger asked while putting a hand to his hip. "It'll be pretty hard to get up them when you can't see anything."

Adriana gave a wide grin as she put her hands behind her head. "Don't worry about that! We just gotta be careful, that's all!"

Caroline let out a huff of annoyance. "The bear doesn't even have the decency to give us real snow. At least that makes the blizzard worth it."

Luna, who stood next to her, raised an eyebrow, before shaking her head in exasperation. "That doesn't matter. At all," the Archer responded in annoyance.

"So, should we go ahead and relax for a bit?" Nikui asked, turning to face Abe.

The Politician nodded with a smile. "Yes, we should. Let's all reconvene here at 6 PM and assess the condition of the storm at that time. For now, take some time for yourselves and do what you wish. A little bit of relaxation would probably be good after the whirlwind that this day has been."

* * *

 _ **4:35 PM Day One**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Library (Lounge)**_

"Dammit!" Jacen shouted, slamming his cards down on the table. He had lost yet another frustrating hand of Gin Rummy, being only able to watch as Nikui had taken a queen he had put down to win the game.

The Comedian stifled a chuckle. "You really shouldn't have put down that queen, you know. You'd seen me take one earlier."

The red-haired boy rolled his eyes as he scratched at the back of his neck. "Card games really aren't my strong suit."

Nikui smilied. "Me neither, really. I've just been playing this game for a while. You should see my grandfather play. He'd beat the both of us in four turns."

Jacen laughed. "My grandad would just yell, tear up the cards, and complain that I'm not doing enough to help the business, in that order. And then he'd make us eat his soda bread, which was terrible."

The pair shared a laugh, reminiscing about their lives. "So wait," Nikui asked, "your family runs a business?"

Jacen nodded. "Yeah, we run a publishing company. That's part of the reason I was even able to get my real start as a professional writer. Technically, I'm at the head of it, but my grandad's gonna be the one running it until I finish school." The Writer shifted his gaze away from Nikui. "At least that was the plan," he muttered, in a tone that Nikui wasn't sure if he was meant to hear.

"Anyway," Jacen turned his gaze back towards the Comedian, "how'd you get into comedy? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

Nikui scratched at his forehead in embarrassment. "It's really nothing special. I used to work at a club part-time washing dishes, cleaning tables - basic janitorial stuff. While working, I'd overhear comedians practicing their routines, so I'd repeat the jokes to my grandparents at dinner. Overtime, I began making my own jokes and performing and, before I knew it, S.T.S. had scouted me as the Premier Comedian. It kinda came out of nowhere though. I hadn't really ever thought of myself as Premier material, if you know what I mean."

Jacen nodded. "I understand. I mean, you still earned your title, right? So it isn't like you don't deserve to be called the Premier Comedian." The Writer gave a smile. "Hell, I guess you could say that you deserve to be an Premier more than I do. I really only got in because I happen to have a connection to a publisher."

Nikui smiled back, before giving an awkward laugh. "Thanks. Though, it's not like I'm insecure about my talent or anything. But I see what you're trying to say."

Jacen paused for a moment, before shoving his hands into his pockets and turning his head to the side. "Damn. Just when I thought I said something cool for once," he said with a light chuckle. "Anyway, up for another hand?"

"Sure," Nikui replied, as he began to deal the cards with a smile. "Your turn to draw first, Mister Nurse Fetish."

"WILL YOU FORGET ABOUT THAT?"

* * *

 _ **4:50 PM Day One**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Performance Hall**_

With a final twirl, Helen released Zoey causing the Rhythm Game Player to spin away from the Dancer, before both finished in a pose opposite of the other.

Morgan, who had been watching, gave a polite clap. Chloe, who was also present, simply rolled her eyes, her arms folded.

Turning back to face Zoey, Helen let out a large breath of air, before giving the other girl a wide smile. "Thanks for that. You're the closest thing there is to another dancer here, so it's nice of you to help me practice." The Dancer let out a sigh. "Though, these stupid glasses make it harder to do fancier spins. Can't risk them flying off."

Zoey gave a thumbs up. "No problem. It's fun to show off my skills."

Chloe scoffed. "As if _you_ have any meaningful skill."

The Gamer's eyes flared dangerously. "What the fuck did you just say? Bitch, I've actually got a real talent. You just throw around money until people like you."

"Excuse me?" The Queen Bee seethed. "At least I've got natural charisma. All you have is a worthless skill with no application anywhere."

Zoey merely narrowed her eyes before walking forward to stand in front of Chloe's chair. The Queen Bee stood up with a smirk. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" she asked victoriously.

Quick as a flash, Zoey brought her palm across Chloe's face, sending the other girl stumbling to the ground.

It took every drop of Helen's willpower to not burst out laughing.

Zoey leaned down, a smug grin on her face. "That's for last August."

"How dare you, you bitch!" Chloe seethed, standing up quickly, raising her own palm to strike Zoey back. Before she could do so, she felt her hand being restrained by Morgan. "Apologies," the Barber began, "But I received an earlier instruction to prevent you from using physical violence on Miss Grace."

The Queen Bee wrenched her hand free, before turning and storming out of the building in a huff. "Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous." Chloe muttered as she left.

As soon as the performance hall door slammed behind the girl, Helen burst out into a fit of laughter. "Oh man" the Dancer managed to get out in between her giggles. "I can't believe you actually slapped her!"

Zoey folded her eyes with a smirk, her blue eyes sparkling from behind the glasses. "She deserved it frankly. Thanks for the save by the way Morgan!"

The Barber gave a polite bow. "It was my pleasure to assist you."

Helen, finally free from the tidal wave of laughter, raised an eyebrow quizzically at Morgan. "Why do you follow our 'instructions' so rigidly? Not saying there's anything wrong with it, just curious."

Morgan turned to face the Dancer. "Simply put, it is because that is my duty. As a barber, it is my role to serve others to the best of my ability. That entails fulfilling anything asked of me, which I will attempt to do so to the best of my ability."

Zoey tilted her head slightly. "Is that why you act differently with different people?"

Morgan nodded. "Correct. I realize that it may seem dishonest of me to do so, but know that I only do it for the sake of keeping as many people as happy as possible." The Barber smiled. "That is what I believe my role is in this world."

Helen shrugged. "I don't really understand it, but if that's what you want to do, go for it."

Zoey nodded with a slight grin. "Though I'd be careful about taking following anything that Chloe says. She might get you high or some shit."

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "Miss Raincomprix uses drugs?"

Zoey gave another nod, a light chuckle escaping her lips. "Oh yeah. Big time. I tell you, one time she got so high before a gala, she nearly stripped in front of all of the guests had her father not stopped her. She was muttering something about a platypus in a fedora the whole night."

On this, Helen burst out into another fit of laughter, with even Morgan letting out a soft chuckle.

"Say, Zoey," Helen began, in between her giggles. "You and Chloe knew each other before this?" The Dancer paused, before correcting herself. "I mean, it's obvious that you did, but how, exactly?"

The other girl rolled her eyes with a small sigh. "We both come from some pretty influential families in Paris. Since we're the same age, we were often forced to be each other's 'playmate'. It was kind of fun, at first. But then, Chloe grew up to be the biggest bitch this side of the Bitchverse, and we grew to absolutely detest each other." Zoey shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal really. Anyway," she said, turing to face Helen. "Want to do another one? It's kinda fun dancing with you."

The Dancer gave a wide grin. "Sure!"

* * *

 _ **5:30 PM Day One**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Theater(Screening Room)**_

Matt rolled his eyes as Caroline put in yet another one of Shichokuma's movies. He, as well as Luna, Hibiki, and Aiger, had now sat through three short films, the entirety of the "Shichokuma Tensei.P Deluxe" series. It was so horrifically bad, Hibiki had left to vomit twice, and Luna had to be restrained from putting an arrow in the projector screen no less than five times. The only ones seemingly unaffected were Caroline and Aiger. Aiger, Matt suspected, was only still here because of the popcorn, of which he was on his third box. He had no idea how the Duelist was still sane. Or himself for that matter.

"We're watching another one?" Hibiki asked incredulously from his seat in the front row.

"Of course," Caroline responded with a smirk. "One of these movies has to hold some sort of secret. I know it!"

Luna let out a sigh of annoyance. "One more bear pun and I'm unloading my quiver into that damn screen."

Aiger shrugged. "At least these movies have good special effects, right? Besides, theaters are awesome!"

The theater lights dimmed again, and a new movie began playing. This time, it was "Shichokuma Bros. Fighting Club". Matt assumed it was meant to be an action movie with a deep plot, but the costumes and backdrops were so bad that it hurt just looking at it. No less than ten minutes in, Hibiki had left to vomit again and Aiger had been forced to carry Luna out of the theater for fear of her attacking everyone in a rage against the numerous painful bear puns throughout the movie.

Sighing, the Swordsman pulled out his Kumapad and flicked it on. 5:42 PM. The storm would worsen in eighteen minutes. A frown formed on his face. The storm hadn't been that bad, even when he took a brief look between movies slightly after 5:00. It looked as if the storm hadn't increased in intensity at all. At this rate, he guessed, Abe's estimate of the storm becoming impassable at 2:00 AM would be wrong, with the storm hitting that point much later. If that were the case, it seemed like a very inefficient way of trying to motivate the students to kill.

Suddenly, the door to the theater swung open. Matt looked over to see Rin and Abe walking into the room.

"Excuse me," the Politician began, clearing his throat. "We're meeting up back at the hotel soon. I trust that you two will be there?"

Caroline nodded. "Of course. We're just finishing up these movies. We think that there may be some clues hidden in them," she said enthusiastically, swinging her legs back and forth, her short stature not quite allowing her feet to rest on the floor of the theater.

"Correction: she thinks that. I'm just here because she wouldn't stop pestering me otherwise," Matt said, another sigh escaping his lips.

Rin raised an eyebrow. "Well? Did you find anything useful?"

Caroline shook her head. "No, but the movies were pretty good at least!"

"How can you think that those movies were any good?" Matt asked, unable to keep the shock out of his voice.

Abe chuckled lightly. "Well, at the very least, it was a good attempt at trying to gain new information for us. For that, I thank you. Now, shall we be going back to the hotel? It'd be best to leave now. The others that were here have already left."

Caroline pouted slightly. "Fine. But I wanted to finish this movie first."

Matt rolled his eyes as he stood up. "Not like there was going to be anything useful in it anyway."

"Hey!" The Duelist exclaimed, bolting to her feet and whipping around to face the Swordsman.

Rin let out an annoyed sigh. "Well? Are we leaving or not?"

"Yeah," Matt responded, walking over to the exit, Caroline following close behind.

The small group exited the theater and into the storm, one that was still rather light, despite the otherwise heavy weight of their situation.

* * *

 _ **8:47 PM Day One**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Library(Lounge)**_

Nikui let out a sigh as he poked at his food. The past two hours had been a whirlwind. The meeting had been a standard affair, but other than people pointing out how slowly the storm was growing, not much else had happened. At seven, the snow had picked up again, but it was still barely noticable and easy to see through. At eight, the storm got slightly worse, but it was still light enough for everyone to easily make there way over to the library with their dinners, made by Hibiki, having little issue doing so.

"Not eating?" Nikui looked to his side, seeing Kasuka sit down next to him.

The Comedian laughed awkwardly. "Oh no, I am. Just thinking about all that's happened today, you know?"

Kasuka nodded. "I do. If you had told me a week ago that I'd be trapped in a city by a robot teddy bear, I don't think I would have believed you. But, well, look where we are now." The Psychologist let out a soft chuckle. "I suppose it is rather strange to think about."

"Yeah…." Nikui fell silent once more, again looking down at his bowl of ramen. The pair sat in silence for a few minutes, calmly eating their food as the other Premiers chatted amongst themselves in between bites.

"Yo! Nikki!" Nikui raised his head to see Adriana walking over, a wide grin on the Rapper's face. "Think you could tell another joke?"

The Comedian shook his head. "I don't think so. Not really in the mood right now. That's a big part of doing comedy. Sorry."

Adriana shook her head. "No, no, it's cool. Wasn't trying to force you into anything." The Rapper's grin grew wider. "I still think we should totally do a joint performance in the Performance Hall. It would be pretty fun!"

Nikui gave a small smile. "I might consider it. I'm still not that big on the idea though."

Adriana shrugged. "Like I said, I'm not going to force you into anything that you don't want to do." With that, the Rapper turned and walked over to talk to Shirahime, who appeared to be quietly discussing something with Jacen.

Nikui yawned, suddenly feeling very tired. It was as if the stress of the day had decided to wait for it to get late to finally catch up with him. _Well, not like it's all that surprising for me to be tired. It has been a very tiring day._ With another large yawn, he stood up and made his way to the exit of the lounge, grabbing his now-empty bowl as he did so.

As he reached the door, he heard a voice behind him. "Leaving already?"

Nikui turned to see Abe approaching him.

Nikui gave a tired smile. "Yeah, I'm getting tired. I think I'm going to return to the hotel and get some rest."

Abe chuckled lightly. "Well, don't let me keep you from that. Good night."

"Good night to you as well, Abe." With that, the Comedian turned back around and left the library. Walking back to the hotel, the storm fluttering in front of his eyes, it occurred to him how weird it must seem for him to leave so suddenly, while everyone else was still eating and talking to each other. _Should I go back? No, then it'd just be awkward. Besides, it isn't like seeming weird is anything new._

Upon reaching the hotel, Nikui left his bowl back in the dining hall, before making his way to the elevator and to his room. The Comedian changed into a simple pair of black pajama shorts that had been left in his closet, presumably by Shichokuma, and got into his bed. Within a minute, Nikui had drifted off to sleep, his exhaustion seeming to ebb away as he slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

 _ **6:20 AM Day Two**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Hotel(Lobby)**_

Nikui stifled a yawn as he made his way out of the elevator and into the lobby. He had slept well enough, but had woken up earlier than normal, at around five in the morning. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to fall back asleep. Walking out into the lobby, he saw Helen and Zoey making their way out of the dining hall, carrying a few pieces of fruit each.

"Morning!" Helen called cheerfully. "Catch!" The Dancer tossed an apple to Nikui, who caught it, albeit with a bit of fumbling.

Zoey let out a sigh. "It's probably going to be a lot harder to get to the library now, huh? Well, we might as well get moving. We can't eat here after all."

Nikui nodded. "Right." With that, the trio began to make their way out of the hotel. Pushing open the door, Nikui expected to be met with a swirling blizzard. Instead, a very different sight was waiting for him.

Laying out in front of the hotel, blood pooling around their body, was the lifeless body of Hibiki Watanabe. The Premier Chef was dead.

Helen let out a bloodcurdling scream as a chilling announcement began to play.

 ***Ding dong bing bong* "A body has been discovered!"** Shichokuma's voice rang out. **"Everyone, please make your way to the area in front of the hotel. After a brief period of investigation, we will move to the city trial!"**

Nikui felt his blood run cold. The game had truly begun.

* * *

 **Population of Central City: 15**

* * *

 **A/N: Before I end this chapter, I want to thank Astonishh for sending in Hibiki. I truly liked him as a character, but unfortunately, somebody has to die first. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Review Section**

 **Sparten2121:** _Glad you're enjoying it so far!_

 **Celestial Sky Dragon:** _Yeah, I was trying to do something unique with my first motive. Glad you're enjoying this!_

 **Gremblo:** _#RinXAbe? Does this settle things? XD_

 **Solrac XD:** _Gremblo is the hero we all need, but not the one we deserve._

 **McLogal:** _*Summons Little Max to the Discord using black magic*_

 **ThePLOThand:** _Yeah, tried to close as many loopholes with this motive as possible._

 **Natsukumo1000:** _I had fun coming up with this motive haha! We'll just have to see about that second part though._


	7. Chapter 4: Flurry: Part Two

**Chapter Four: Flurry: Part Two**

 _ **6:25 AM Day Two**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Hotel (Entrance)**_

Nikui stared at the scene in a mix of horror and shock. No matter how much he tried to wake up, he couldn't. This wasn't a dream. Hibiki truly was dead.

"This- this isn't real. It isn't," Helen muttered as she dropped to her knees, eyes wide.

"What the hell?" Zoey asked quietly, her grip on her forearm tightening.

Just then, the door to the hotel swung open and Abe came racing out. It appeared as if the announcement had played while the Politician was getting dressed, as he wore only a plain white undershirt along with his usual pair of pants. His suit and tie were nowhere to be found.

"What the?" he exclaimed upon noticing Hibiki's lifeless form. His confusion was soon replaced by rage as his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Who is responsible for this?" He looked around the assembled group.

Nikui shook his head lightly. "I wish I knew," he muttered, looking down at his feet.

Soon after, the remaining students raced out of the hotel, each in varying states of dress and alertness.

"Wh-Wh-What?" Luna stammered out, shaking slightly.

Rin cast her glance down and away from Hibiki's body. "How was this allowed to happen?"

"Th-This is….. H-huh?" Aiger stammered, taking a step back.

Kasuka merely let out a mirthless chuckle. "It seems someone has already succumbed to the pressure of this game. But who? This will be interesting."

With an intense fire burning in her eyes, Caroline whipped around. "Interesting? Somebody just died and you're calling it interesting?"

Kasuka let out a sigh. "Understand, I am a psychologist. I will take any opportunity I can get to further my talent. And if I'm not mistaken, this sort of a scenario doesn't happen very often. Or ever, for that matter. So I apologize if I'm attempting to learn what I can. And besides," the Psychologist pushed up his snow-glasses, "it isn't like any of us had any relation to Hibiki, right? We all knew him for less than a day. Apologies if I don't exactly have an emotional attachment."

"Still though," Abe said, turning his gaze on the Psychologist, "a little bit of respect for the dead would be appreciated."

Kasuka merely folded his arms with a roll of his eyes.

"Everyone needs to calm down," Matt spat, narrowing his eyes. "That damn bear will likely show up and say something mocking, before telling us what to do."

" **Nyuk, nyuk! Why'd you have to go and ruin the fun?"** Shichokuma chortled as he appeared from the entrance to the hotel. **"Well, at least we've got a stiffy! Only took you losers a day!"** The bear threw his head back in a laugh.

"So you're here to give us information, correct?" Shirahime asked from behind her mask. "Or are you only here to mock us?"

The bear turned to her, its constant grin appearing to grow wider. **"Both! Nyuk nyuk nyuk!"**

"Enough!" Abe exclaimed as he stepped forward. "Simply tell us what you came here to do so."

Shichokuma shrugged. **"Yeesh. Hold your horses."** The bear waddled over to Hibiki's body before turning back around to face the assembled Premiers. **"First things first. You may have realized that I've taken the liberty of shutting off the VR effect of your glasses. So, the motive is now over."** The bear shrugged. **"Do what you want with them. We've got the budget to replace 'em."**

The Premiers shifted around as they removed their glasses. Some threw them - Caroline had a surprisingly good arm - others simply crushed them, which prompted Nikui to make a mental note to never challenge Adriana to an arm-wrestle; and some just put them in their pockets, which was the option Nikui took. He had to admit, the glasses were kind of cool.

Once everyone had finished dealing with their glasses, Shichokuma folded his arms behind his back. **"Alright. Now, onto the main event! If you would please check your Kumapads…"**

Nikui felt the device buzz in his pocket. Pulling it out and turning it on, he noticed a new icon blinking in the corner, reading "File."

" **That right there is the Shichokuma File! It's got everything you need to begin an investigation! I'd get started on finding the blackened among you, the clock's ticking! Nyuk, nyuk!"**

"Hold on!" Jacen snapped. "How do we know that you're telling the truth? How do we know you didn't kill Hibiki yourself?"

Shichokuma turned to him with a pout. **"Jeez, did you even read the rules? It states quite clearly that Mayor Shichokuma shall never directly partake in a murder. And a bear never goes against his word!"** Shichokuma let out a hearty laugh. **"Now get to investigating! Trust me, you'll need all the time you've got!"** With that, the bear turned and waddled away, cackling madly to himself.

Abe watched the bear depart before returning his gaze to the assembled students. "Well, we should probably begin our investigation. Regrettable as this situation is, failure to comply with the bear's rules will only lead to more unnecessary death."

 **INVESTIGATION: START!**

 **Shichokuma Case File #1**

 **Victim: Hibiki Watanabe**

 **Cause of death is blood loss due to multiple wounds inflicted, particularly in the chest region.**

 **The time of death is approximately 2 AM.**

 **The body was found at approximately 6:21 AM by Nikui, Helen, and Zoey.**

 **TRUTH BULLET: Shichokuma Case File #1**

Jacen looked around. "So, where do we begin? I don't really have experience with this kind of stuff," he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Chloe let out a scoff. "Of course YOU have no idea on how to proceed. Thankfully, your goddess, me, knows exactly-"

"We should probably start by collecting alibis, while we're all together, shouldn't we?" Zoey asked, cutting the Queen Bee off.

"HEY! You can't just cut me off like that!" Chloe yelled, but the rest of the group ignored her as they had a much more pressing matter to take care of.

"Alibis, huh? I don't think any of us would have one." Caroline mused as she raised her hand to her chin. "I mean, Hibiki died when most of us were asleep."

"Not necessarily," Zoey said, stepping forward. "Helen and I both couldn't sleep so we did a bit of impromptu dance practice in her room to take our mind off of things. We did that until about 3 AM, and even then I just passed out in one of the chairs in her room. So that gives us both a solid alibi." **TRUTH BULLET: Zoey's Account**

"Y-Yeah, that's right," Helen muttered as she slowly stood up, still shaking.

Matt looked around the group and mused, "So that eliminates two suspects, leaving us with thirteen more - including myself, it seems."

"That's still not a very good number." Kasuka grimaced as he folded his arms.

"I have a question," Nikui said, quietly raising his hand. "I was the first one to leave the library last night, so I think that it'd be a good idea to review the times when everyone left the library, no? That way, we can at the very least get a frame for the last time anyone saw Hibiki."

Abe tilted his head slightly. "Well, I left the dining hall shortly after 10 PM. I believe when I left, Hibiki, Matt, Adriana, Caroline, Aiger, and Kasuka were still in the library. That means Nikui, Chloe, Zoey, Shirahime, Helen, Morgan, Rin, Jacen, and Luna all left sometime before 10 PM."

"Hibiki and I were the last ones to leave, unless I'm mistaken," Aiger said with a thoughtful expression. "I was helping him bring dishes back to the kitchen, and then we both cleaned them before going back to our rooms. That was around 11 PM, which made it a bit difficult to get back to the hotel, due to the storm." **TRUTH BULLET: Library Leaving Times**

Adriana let out a long sigh. "That still doesn't get us very far, does it?"

Rin shook her head. "It's too early for us to declare this unsolvable. For now, we should split up into groups and search for clues. That'll allow us to cover ground faster without the risk of leaving the culprit alone to destroy evidence." The Teacher's Assistant paused, scanning her eyes over the assembled students. "How about this: We split into three groups, each covering a different area looking for clues. Zoey, Helen, Morgan, Shirahime, and Jacen." Rin pointed at each student as she called their name. "You guys search the hotel, including the kitchen and Hibiki's room, if you can get into it."

The Writer nodded at her suggestion. "Alright, I guess we can do that. C'mon guys, let's go." The small group made their way back into the hotel. Nikui noticed that Helen in particular seemed to want to get away from Hibiki's body.

"Alright," Rin continued, "Matt, Luna, Aiger, Caroline, and Chloe, you guys search the library. There might have been something left behind from last night."

"As if I'm going to be ordered around by _you_ ," Chloe sneered, turning away from Rin in a haughty manner.

"Just come along before I drag you," Matt said coldly as he walked past her in the direction of the library.

"Wha-? B-But I…" Chloe stammered before begrudgingly walking towards the library with a pout, muttering something about this being "utterly ridiculous."

Rin returned her gaze to the remaining students: herself, Abe, Adriana, Nikui, and Kasuka. "The rest of us will investigate the body and see if the culprit left behind any physical evidence."

Abe gave a small clap. "I'm surprised at you taking control like that. Given the situation, though," his eyes flickered back to Hibiki's body, "now really isn't the time to be celebrating."

Rin shook her head. "I'm sorry if I seemed bossy back there. I don't normally like having to take the lead in things, but it was necessary. For now, we should probably get started on the investigation."

"Yeah," Nikui muttered as he cautiously approached the body, attempting to swallow the lump in his throat as he did so.

The sight of so much blood pooling around a body made him want to throw up. To say that it was unsettling would be the understatement of the century.

 _It's not like I have a choice though. If we don't find his killer, we're all dead._

"So where do we even begin with something like this?" Adriana questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Kasuka pushed his glasses up. "Well, I believe we should start by seeing if we can determine any part of the killer's methods, or any mistakes they may have made."

Abe frowned before kneeling in front of Hibiki's body, examining the many cuts present across his chest. "Well, I'm pretty sure some sort of bladed weapon was used. Nothing else could make cuts this deep. Perhaps a knife? I know I saw a few in the kitchen."

"That makes sense," Rin agreed, as she too examined the cuts. "Though that brings up another question. Where is the murder weapon?"

"Why would it be here? Wouldn't the killer want to hide it somewhere?" Adriana asked, twirling her hat around her finger. "Maybe they washed it and put it back?"

Nikui shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps one of the other groups will find it? In any case, we've still got more to look at." **TRUTH BULLET: Missing Murder Weapon?**

"What's this?" Kasuka muttered before bending over to pick up something that appeared to be pinned underneath Hibiki's body. It was a sliver of black fabric, about the size of an individual hair.

"What's what?" Abe turned to the Psychologist and raised an eyebrow.

"This," Kasuka replied, holding out the piece of fabric.

"A piece of fabric?" Rin questioned, taking the item from Kasuka to examine it. "Perhaps this came off the killer's clothes?"

Abe brought his hand to his chin, a thoughtful expression forming on his face. "So the killer was wearing something black then, right? That applies to multiple people here. Potentially everyone, depending on the color of the other outfits Shichokuma provided in our individual rooms. Still, we should take note of this." **TRUTH BULLET: Black Fabric**

"So for now, that doesn't really help us, does it?" Adriana muttered in exasperation.

"That's something else that's been bothering me." Kasuka turned his attention back to Hibiki's body. "The fact that Hibiki still appears to not have changed into his sleepwear. If he was killed at 2 AM, it should stand to reason that he'd have changed into sleepwear by that point. Yet here he is, still wearing the outfit he wore all day." **TRUTH BULLET: Hibiki in Day Clothes**

"That is strange. Perhaps he never intended to go to sleep last night," Rin mused, her frown deepening.

Nikui arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"It's just a hypothesis, but what if Hibiki was planning to kill somebody himself, only for his target to get the upper hand? That could be the reason he didn't get changed."

Abe shook his head. "I don't think that's what happened. Hibiki didn't seem like the type to commit murder." The Politician let out a sigh as he cast his gaze downward. "Then again, I believed everyone here capable of resisting this savage game," he muttered.

"Well," Kasuka began, pushing up his glasses for the upteenth time, "I guess it goes to show that people aren't always what they seem."

* * *

 _ **6:30 AM Day Two**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Hotel (Elevator)**_

Zoey and Helen were silent on their way up the elevator, the only sounds being their breathing.

"You okay?" the Rhythm Game Player asked suddenly as she turned towards Helen.

"N-Not really," the Dancer stuttered, her voice shaking. "I-It's just that… I-I'm not good around b-blood. I was raised pretty sheltered, so I never really knew the harshness of the world until a much later age than most."

Zoey turned away. "That's understandable. Parents who can't prepare their kids for the world go down as failures in my book." Zoey fell silent for a moment. "Being the first ones to find his body, it almost feels like the universe is giving us both a big slap in the face."

"I guess." Helen gave a forced chuckle. "To be honest, I'd almost prefer it if we failed at the trial. I try to always stay positive, but this is… I don't know if I can keep going through this."

Zoey shook her head. "You can't think like that. Yeah, it's going to be difficult, but wishing for death isn't a good idea. Wallowing in self-pity gets you nowhere. I may sound like one of those motivational cat posters right now, but you've got to keep going forward. That's all we really can do in this damn city."

Helen once again attempted to swallow the lump in her throat. "Y-Yeah, you're right."

Just then, the elevator chimed, signalling their arrival on the eighth floor: Hibiki's floor.

Zoey had expected the door to be locked tight. Instead, it swung open easily, revealing a room set up exactly like all of the others.

"I don't know what they're expecting us to find here," she muttered as she looked around the room.

"Well, anything might help, right?" Helen replied as she opened up the nightstand, revealing a singular object: a Kumapad.

"Why's this here?" Helen turned around to show the object to Zoey.

"His Kumapad?" Zoey took the item and turned it on, confirming that it was indeed Hibiki's. "Why wouldn't he have it with him?"

Helen scratched at her forehead. "Maybe he didn't think to bring it? He could've just been heading out for a quick trip to the lobby or something."

Zoey shrugged. "That might explain why the door is unlocked. Though it doesn't explain why his Kumapad is still here." **TRUTH BULLET: Hibiki's Kumapad**

" **Hold a minute!"** The pair whipped around to see Shichokuma waddling in from the still open doorway.

"Why are you here?" Zoey asked, her tone dripping with suspicion.

" **Sheesh. I'm only here to help. See, I'm a nice mayor! Nyuk nyuk!"**

Helen rolled her eyes with a sigh. "We don't care. Just tell us what you came here for."

" **Alright, alright, fine. I forgot to mention this in the rules, but a hotel room door will automatically unlock itself when its resident perishes. Just thought you should know, nyuk nyuk!"** With that, the purple and white bear turned and waddled out of sight again.

 **City Law #14 Added: A citizen's hotel room will unlock itself following their demise**

 **TRUTH BULLET: City Law #14**

"So do we get back to looking around?" Zoey asked, turning back to face Helen.

"Yeah, we probably should," the Dancer responded. "Though I'm still not sure we can do this…"

* * *

 _ **6:35 AM Day Two**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Hotel (Dining Hall/Kitchen)**_

Jacen let out a sigh of frustration as he slammed the cupboard closed. "Are we going to find anything here? Besides the usual foodstuffs."

"We can not afford to give up so soon. Our lives are on the line, after all," Morgan replied curtly as he peered into a cabinet.

Shirahime's voice rang out from near the sink. "Especially since I may have found something."  
"Did you?" Jacen asked. He turned towards the Kunoichi, noting that she had pulled on her mask once again.

"Yes." She held up a kitchen knife. At first glance, it appeared to be a normal knife, but a closer look revealed that there was smeared blood on both the blade and the handle.

"Well, it appears we have our murder weapon," Morgan said, taking the knife from Shirahime to examine it himself. **TRUTH BULLET: Missing Murder Weapon? has been updated to Bloody Kitchen Knife**

"But why is the blood smeared?" Jacen questioned. "Why wouldn't the killer just wash the blood off?"

Shirahime shook her head. "I don't think they could. Remember, running water is shut off during nighttime, right? So the best they could do was merely wipe the blood off with a paper towel."

"That still does not answer the question of why the killer felt the need to hide the murder weapon. It was quite clear from the state of the body that some sort of bladed weapon was used, so hiding the murder weapon would only add extra complication to any sort of murder plan, increasing the window in which they could be discovered."

"That's another thing that's been bothering me," Shirahime mused, taking the knife back from Morgan. "I only took a short look at Hibiki's body, but from what I saw, the cuts were very precise. From what I know, someone would have to be very good with knives or other bladed weapons to make cuts like that."

"Wonderful. Somebody here's got a hidden skill with knives," Jacen muttered as he began to walk across the room. Suddenly, he felt something kick out from underneath his feet. Following the sound, he noticed what seemed to be a bent fork sliding near the sink. Shrugging, the Writer picked it up and tossed it back into the sink. **TRUTH BULLET: Bent Fork**

"So what now?" Jacen asked, turning back towards Morgan and Shirahime.

"This," Morgan stated, holding up a roll of duct tape.

"Duct tape?" Shirahime arched an eyebrow.

The Barber nodded. "Correct. Furthermore, it appears it was used. I checked in the trash can, and found a piece of the same material, only this one had its inner side covered in blood."

"So it was used to cover up a wound?" Jacen theorized as he examined the bloody duct tape.

Shirahime nodded. "Given that we found the murder weapon in a different place from the body, and the fact that we found no blood between Hibiki's body and the kitchen, I think we can assume that the killer first attacked Hibiki in the kitchen, before moving his body to the area outside the hotel." **TRUTH BULLET: Bloody Duct Tape**

"That _does_ make sense," Morgan mused, scratching the area underneath his hat.

Jacen rolled his eyes. "Making sense doesn't mean shit if we can't find out who did this."

 _ **6:40 AM Day Two**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Library (Main Area)**_

Matt looked around the library once again, attempting to find any clue as to Hibiki's killer. Unfortunately, the group hadn't had much luck so far.

"Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. That icy-haired bitch has the nerve to order us all here, only for there to be absolutely zero clues in this area!" Chloe slammed a book back into the shelf in agitation.

"Relax. There's bound to be something here," Caroline responded as she peered into a drawer. "Besides, Luna and Aiger might find something in the lounge."

Matt let out a sigh. "That might be true, but it doesn't bode well that we haven't been able to find anything yet."

"But we can't just give up!" Caroline pouted as she closed the drawer.

"Hmph. As if they'll find anything. If _I_ haven't been able to find anything, there's no way those two have found anything."

"For once, Chloe is right." Luna's voice suddenly rang out as she, along with Aiger, walked into sight.

"Obviously I- wait! What do you mean 'for once'?"

Aiger let out a large sigh of exasperation. "We couldn't find anything in the lounge. We're out of luck."

Matt folded his arms. "So now we're forced to rely on whatever the other groups found, which isn't exactly the most reassuring notion given that our situation is a literal do-or-die scenario."

"Well, it's not like we can't do anything." Aiger put his hand on his hip. "We can, at the very least, try and think of something, right? Standing around doesn't do much to help anybody."

Caroline gave her trademark smirk as she pulled down her hat. "Precisely! Now, let us put our heads together and solve this mystery!"

There was an awkward silence as the students racked their brains for anything that they could use to try and get closer to finding Hibiki's killer.

"Wait a second," Caroline said suddenly, snapping her fingers. "Didn't Hibiki seem like he was sick? I mean, he left those movies to puke a few times, right?"

Luna's eyes lit up in realization. "He did. At the time, I chalked it up to those awful movies, but perhaps he really was sick."

"If the killer noticed that," Chloe began, a smirk forming on her face, "then they could use it to their advantage and easily overpower and kill him!"

"But that doesn't make sense." Luna frowned. "We explored the city together earlier, and he seemed fine. So why would he suddenly get sick?"

"Maybe he ate something that disagreed with him?" Matt suggested hopefully.

"I mean, he was the Premier Chef, right?" Aiger scratched at the back of his neck. "I highly doubt he'd be careless enough to eat something that would cause him to get sick."

"Then maybe he only got sick by chance?" Caroline tried with a shrug.

"Wait a minute," Chloe began, raising her head suddenly. "I think I may know what caused Hibiki to become sick."

"Do you?" Matt asked with a raise of his right eyebrow.

"When he took everybody's orders for lunch, I made him make duck. Now that I think back on it, he looked as if he wanted to refuse that, but I insisted."

"So he had a poultry allergy?" Aiger concluded, folding his arms. "And it's your fault that he got sick, which might have aided his killer."

"I had no idea that he had such an allergy! To blame this on me is utterly ridiculous!"

"Well, at least we have something," Matt said with a sigh. **TRUTH BULLET: Hibiki's Allergy**

Just then, a chime sounded throughout the library.

 ***Ding dong, bing bong***

" **Attention, all citizens! It is now time for the City Trial. Everyone, please gather at the plaza."**

When the announcement concluded, every student felt the same pit in their stomach grow. It was time for the trial. If their investigation hadn't been enough, all of their lives were forfeit.

* * *

 **Population of Central City: 15**

* * *

 **Truth Bullets:**

 **Shichokuma Case File #1**

 **Zoey's Account**

 **Library Leaving Times**

 **Bloody Kitchen Knife**

 **Black Fabric**

 **Hibiki in Day Clothes**

 **Hibiki's Kumapad**

 **City Law #14**

 **Bent Fork**

 **Bloody Duct Tape**

 **Hibiki's Allergy**

 **Review Section**

 **Little max:** _Of course. How could I make such a simple mistake? XD_

 **BirblordAlmighty:** _That is a dead chef. Cast your ballots now!_

 **danieltruong1917:** _It certainly is a good musical. Though, in reality, there were roughly 30+ individual codes of a duel, if my research is correct._

 **Yuuki Itsuka:** _Not sure if I should be happy or terrified that you're excited for the murders. I guess I'll go with happy._

 **McLogal:** _Well, is your guess still the same? XD Love the program as always._

 **ThePLOTHand:** _I dunno. Will you?_

 **The Celestial Sky Dragon:** _That was a Smash reference smh. Glad you're enjoying the interactions with the characters._

 **JCW18:** _Chapter 1 Syndrome. Killing off the development of characters since, oh wait. Sayaka didn't suffer from that…. Whelp! There goes my analogy!_


	8. Chapter 5: Flurry: Part Three

**Chapter Five: Flurry: Part Three**

* * *

 **Shichokuma Case File #1**

 **Victim: Hibiki Watanabe**

 **Cause of death is blood loss due to multiple wounds inflicted, particularly in the chest region.**

 **The time of death is approximately 2 AM.**

 **The body was found at approximately 6:21 AM by Nikui, Helen, and Zoey.**

 **Truth Bullets:**

 **Shichokuma Case File #1**

 **Zoey's Account** **-** Zoey and Helen were dancing together in Helen's room. This lasted until roughly 3AM, when Zoey fell asleep in one of the chairs

 **Library Leaving Times** **-** Nikui, Chloe, Zoey, Shirahime, Helen, Rin, Morgan, Jacen, and Luna all left the library sometime between 8:45 PM and 10:00 PM. Matt, Caroline, Adriana, and Kasuka all left between 10:00 PM and 11:00 PM. Aiger and Hibiki left together at 11:00 PM, before returning to their individual rooms

 **Bloody Kitchen Knife** **-** A knife was found in the kitchen that had blood smeared on both the blade and the handle, as if someone attempted to wipe it clean

 **Black Fabric** **\- A** thin piece of black fabric was found underneath Hibiki's body. Hibiki doesn't wear any black; could this have come off the killer?

 **Hibiki in Day Clothes** **-** Despite being killed at 2 AM, Hibiki hadn't changed into his sleepwear and instead was still wearing his day clothes

 **Hibiki's Kumapad** **-** Hibiki's Kumapad was still in his room, instead of being with him

 **City Law #14** **-** A citizen's hotel room will unlock itself following their demise

 **Bent Fork** **-** Jacen found a bent fork on the kitchen floor. Why was it there?

 **Bloody Duct Tape** **-** Morgan found a piece of bloody duct tape in the kitchen garbage. Was this used to cover up a wound?

 **Hibiki's Allergy** **-** Hibiki had a poultry allergy, that Chloe unintentionally triggered when she ordered duck for lunch. This made him sick, as was evident by numerous vomiting fits throughout the afternoon

* * *

 _ **6:50 AM Day Two**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **City Streets (Plaza)**_

The assembled students stood silently around the fountain, the only noise being the constant gushing of water.

"So do we just start discussing our investigation?" Jacen asked suddenly.

Matt let out an annoyed sigh as he folded his arms. "I guess we-" The Swordsman was cut off suddenly as Shichokuma jumped out from the podium in the fountain.

"Or the bear can just cut me off."

" **Good, it seems like we're all here. Now then, let's get this ball rolling!"**

"So we hold the so-called 'City Trial' here?" Rin questioned, narrowing her eyes at the bear.

" **As if! We've got to move to the courtroom!"**

"A courtroom?"Abe raised an eyebrow at the bear's proclamation. "I didn't think there was one in this city."

" **Well, it wouldn't do good to have you schmucks ruin the place in-between cases, now would it?"** Shichokuma produced a large red button and pushed it. There was a sharp hiss as the water in the fountain suddenly stopped flowing before the fountain itself began to shake, causing low rumbles to sound throughout the area. While the fountain finished slowly rising out of the ground, a large set of red doors revealed themselves. They slid open, leading directly to an elevator - one much like the one in the hotel.

"So cool!" Aiger exclaimed before the glares of the other students reminded him that now probably wasn't the best time to gush.

" **Well now, everybody in!"** Shichokuma declared. Seeing no better option, the students slowly filed in. Once they were all inside, the elevator began to fall. Down…. down… and further down.

Numerous thoughts flew through the minds of every student. It was pure terror for some; an unsettling nervousness for others as their lives hung in the balance; and for one certain individual, a rush of excitement from knowing they were close to both getting away with their crime, as well as escaping the city.

Finally, the elevator stopped moving, doors opening to reveal an expansive, circular, room with a wooden floor, much like you'd expect out of a typical courtroom. Purple drapes covered the walls, and a circle of what appeared to be witness stands stood at the center of the room. The unsettling thing about these was that at one of the podiums there was portrait of Hibiki's face, though it had been grayed out and there was a large 'X' covering it, painted in the color of blood. At least, the students hoped it was just paint. At the far end was a large throne, in which sat Shichokuma.

" **Welcome to the Central City Trial Room!"** the bear exclaimed gleefully, as the students cautiously entered the room. **"Please find your individual stands, and we'll begin!"**

Kasuka eyed Hibiki's portrait from his place to its left. "What, if I may inquire, is the purpose of this portrait?"

" **Well, I'm a mayor who believes in the community spirit and getting everyone present for all city activities. Death shouldn't be a bearier, nyuk nyuk!"**

"Just ignore the bear," Jacen mused with a shrug from his spot to the left of Morgan. "We've got to find Hibiki's killer, right? So let's get to that."

Luna nodded in agreement to the declaration from the Writer, who was to her right. "Right. We will hit our target, dead-center."

Shichokuma let out his trademark cackle. **"If you're all so confident, then let's begin!"**

It was time. Time for the trial that would decide their fate.

 ***Nikui turns his head to the side, his eyes wide, as if startled by something.***

 ***Chloe brushes hair out of her face as she raises her head haughtily***

 ***Abe stares straight ahead as he uses his right hand to adjust his tie***

 ***Zoey folds her arms, a confident smirk on her face***

The trial to find the killer of Hibiki Watanabe, the Premier Chef. Someone they had not known well, but an innocent life nonetheless.

 ***Kasuka rubs the back of his neck as he sleepily looks up***

 ***Helen poses, her hands out and a smile on her face, as if finishing a twirl***

 _*Hibiki looks down as he fiddles with his headband*_

 ***Shirahime frowns timidly as she pulls her mask down to her face***

One mistake could lead to the death of every innocent. One guess could pinpoint the guilty party.

 ***Morgan smiles warmly as he tips his hat***

 ***Adriana flashes a peace sign with a large smile***

 ***Aiger pounds his fists together, grinning wildly***

 ***Caroline smirks as she pulls down her hat with her left hand, thrusting out her rapier with her right.***

Nothing would be solved by turning away. The Premiers would have to face this trial head on.

 ***Matt looks over his shoulder, his back turned and hands in pockets.***

 ***Rin narrows her eyes as she stares ahead, left hand coming up to rest on her chin***

 ***Jacen looks down at his right hand, as if holding a pen***

 ***Luna jabs her right hand out, as if pinpointing a target***

The first City Trial of Central City was about to begin. There was no turning back.

* * *

 **TRIAL: START!**

* * *

" **Alright. Let me begin with a basic explanation of the City Trial. Each of you will present your arguments on whodunnit! At the end, you'll vote for who you think the blackened is. Pick the right person, and only the blackened will be punished. But if you pick the wrong person… everybody but the blackened will be punished and that person will be allowed to leave this city!"**

"So, where then should we start?" Morgan asked, looking around the trial room.

"We should probably try to eliminate s-suspects, right?" Shirahime reached for her mask, but brought her hand down quickly.

Nikui nodded. "That's likely the best course of action right now."

* * *

 **Non-Stop Debate: Begin!**

"If we're going to eliminate suspects," Luna began, "then we're going to need **alibis** , right?"

"Yes," Abe agreed. "An alibi would allow us to easily **eliminate a suspect** _ **.**_ "

"Well it's good tha-"

" _ **Nobody has an alibi**_ though," Chloe interrupted Helen."So that doesn't matter, does it?

"What the hell, bitch?" Zoey's eyes flared.

"Is nobody going to **point out the obvious** here?" Matt commented incredulously.

" _Were you even paying attention?"_ Zoey asked, shooting a glance at the Queen Bee.

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Seriously, Chloe. Were you even paying attention at all?" The Rhythm Game Player shook her head in bewilderment. "Helen and I were together dancing until about 3 AM, and even then I was still in her room. So we both have alibis."  
Jacen gave a chuckle. "Just goes to show that you can't trust Bitchy Bee with anything."

"Excuse me?"

"So that means that Helen and Zoey can't be the killer, right?" Aiger frowned, looking at the two girls that were across from him.

"Yes, we can reach that conclusion. Also," Abe turned to face Shichokuma, "that reminds me of something I was meaning to ask: can a killer trigger that announcement that played earlier?"

" **Hmm. That's a good question."**

 **...**

 **...**

"Are you going to answer?" asked Caroline.

" **Hm? Answer what?"**

Matt rolled his eyes. "It's no use talking to the bear. He won't provide us any answers."

" **Well, when you put it like that, I guess I could answer you."**

… **.**

… **.**

… **.**

… **.**

"Forget it, let's just move on." Jacen shook his head with disgust.

" **The answer is that no, the killer cannot be one of the three citizens to trigger the Body Discovery Announcement."**

 _Getting answers from him is as simple as ignoring him? Jeez._ Nikui scratched at his forehead. "So, I guess that means I'm off the list as well, right?"

"Yes, that means we now have three suspects eliminated." Kasuka adjusted his glasses. "However, that still leaves twelve that could've possibly committed this crime."

"I believe we should start figuring out how the culprit killed Hibiki before we begin trying to find suspects." Rin looked around the room. "If we figure out the method, we can eliminate those who couldn't carry it out, leading to a better chance of pinpointing our culprit."

* * *

 **Non-Stop Debate: Begin!**

"The first step in figuring out a murder is finding out the **weapon** , right?" Helen asked with a frown.

"Yeah, that is something we need to figure out," Luna replied.

"Something used to **murder Hibiki** …" Rin mused with a thoughtful expression.

Caroline frowned. "We _**didn't find anything like that**_ though."

"Perhaps the killer **didn't use a weapon**?" Aiger suggested with a shrug.

Matt shook his head. "What would they use then? Their bare hands?"

"Maybe they used **Shichokuma's claws?** " Adriana asked, rubbing her arm.

" **DO YOU PEOPLE EVEN READ THE RULES!?"**

" _You're wrong!"_ Jacen shouted, thrusting out a finger at Caroline.

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Actually, we did find a murder weapon. Right, Shirahime?"

The Kunoichi nodded. "Yes. We found a knife in the kitchen that appeared to have blood smeared on it. The killer probably wiped it down with a paper towel, since water doesn't run during nighttime."

"So that gives us a murder weapon, but not much else," Abe mused with a frown.

"That is not all we found in the kitchen." Morgan cleared his throat. "I was also able to find a piece of bloody duct tape in the garbage. Though, I am still unsure to its purpose."

"Duct tape? Could that be used to seal a would perhaps? Stop the cut from bleeding to finish Hibiki off in another location," Kasuka theorized, looking over at the Barber.

Jacen shrugged. "That's what we thought, since Hibiki's body was found in front of the hotel, and there was no blood between his body and the kitchen. But if the killer took that route, then they'd have to move the body, right? That wouldn't be easy."

"That it would," Matt agreed. "Someone would have to be rather strong in order to move Hibiki's body, no? So I think we have our first suspect." The Swordsman turned to the boy next to him. "Aiger, you seem like you would be strong enough to move Hibiki's body, don't you?"

The Metalworker's words fumbled for a moment. "W-Wait. Are you saying that I did it?"

"I must admit, he does fit the muscle requirement," Kasuka noted, pushing up his glasses. "It would be no trouble for him to move Hibiki's body to the position we found it in."

"Hey, c'mon. I didn't do it." Aiger's words shook as the other students all looked at him.

"We should probably re-examine everything before we jump to any conclusions," Abe cautioned. "But understand, Aiger, you are our current prime suspect. Unless we can prove your innocence, we will likely all vote for you."

* * *

 **Non-Stop Debate: Begin!**

"Aiger would easily be able to **move Hibiki's body** , wouldn't he?" Chloe began.

"He could've easily **used the duct tape** to seal an initial would, moved Hibiki's body, and then killed him there!" Luna theorized, emphasizing her points by counting them off with her fingers.

"Aiger simply had to _**wait for Hibiki to return from the library**_ , and then take him by surprise in the kitchen!" Caroline declared with a triumphant smirk.

"W-Wait, hold on," Aiger stammered in response.

Rin folded her arms as she stared over at the Metalworker. "I must admit, the dots do seem to connect."

"So we've **found the killer** , right?" Adriana inquired, once again rubbing her arm.

"N-No. J-Just hold on."

"It seems like we can begin to **wrap things up** ," Abe concluded with a sigh.

" _Wait a minute, Caroline! That isn't right!"_ Nikui exclaimed.

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Don't you remember what we discussed at the beginning of the investigation? Hibiki and Aiger left the library at the same time. So if Aiger was really going to ambush Hibiki, wouldn't he want to do it during the walk from the library to the hotel? Not only would he have the advantage of the storm to hide himself, but he'd also be at less of a risk of being found." Nikui paused and pulled out his Kumapad. "Besides, the case file lists Hibiki's death as taking place at 2 AM this morning. If things really happened as we thought, then there's an unaccounted for three hour gap."

"Exactly! I stayed behind to help Hibiki bring dishes back." Aiger pumped his fist into the air. "That means I'm clear, right?"

Morgan shook his head. "I am sorry, Mister Nakano, but we can not fully clear you of suspicion just yet. There is still much of the case we have to go over - many things that still do not make sense."

Rin snapped her fingers suddenly. "Wait a minute! Hibiki's clothes. That doesn't make much sense, does it? Why would he be in his day clothes at 2 AM?"

Zoey bit her lip. "Now that you mention it, that does seem weird. Most would've changed into their pajamas by then."

Caroline's frown deepened. "That does seem suspicious. We should probably try and figure out why he hadn't changed."

* * *

 **Non-Stop Debate: Begin!**

"When we found Hibiki, he was **in day clothes, right?** " Matt inquired.

Adriana nodded. "Yeah, that's right. It did seem **sort of weird**."

"Hibiki would have had to have **some reason for not changing** , wouldn't he?" Rin theorized, gazing at his portrait that was directly across from her.

Caroline pulled down her hat. "Perhaps, he was **planning to commit murder** himself!"

Nikui scratched at his forehead. "Are you sure? He didn't seem like the type to **kill somebody**."

"It actually makes some deal of sense," Kasuka realized. "There _**wouldn't be any other reason**_ for him to not only stay in his day clothes, but for him to also go to the kitchen at such a peculiar time."

"So then if Hibiki was planning to commit murder," Chloe reasoned, "all we need to do now is find **who his target was**!"

"Because that person likely **killed him in self-defense**!" Aiger concluded, bringing his right fist crashing into his left palm.

" _Hold on Kasuka! That's not right!"_ Luna's eyes flew open at the Psychologist's statement.

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"Actually, there would be a very valid reason for Hibiki to go to the kitchen. At lunch, Chloe accidentally triggered his poultry allergy. I guess that made him sick, because he was vomiting most of the day. He likely went to the kitchen to try and find something that would make him stop hurling." The Archer snapped her fingers. "That would offer us an explanation for him still being in his day clothes as well. He likely had a vomiting fit when he got back to the hotel, and thus had no time to change."

Jacen rubbed at the back of his neck. "I guess that makes sense. But what about the motive? He couldn't eat anything in the kitchen, or he'd be executed."

Nikui shook his head with a slight chuckle. "I don't know about you, Jacen, but if I was vomiting for a day, I'd likely try and make it stop any way possible. That, or he was planning on taking whatever he found to the library."

Abe raised his hand thoughtfully. "This does make sense. Hibiki went down to the kitchen to try and clear up his vomiting fit, and that's when the culprit ambushed him."

Zoey shook her head in frustration. "That's good an all, but where does this get us? We know that the culprit ambushed Hibiki in the kitchen, but that still doesn't get us any closer to finding out who the culprit actually is."

Matt tapped his forearm repeatedly in annoyance. "There has to be something we missed. Let's try going everything we know so far. We might be able to figure out something new."

* * *

 **Non-Stop Debate: Begin!**

"Hibiki was vomiting all day because **Bitchy Bee unknowingly triggered his allergy,** right?" Jacen began, casting a slight glance at Chloe.

"Excuse me! What did I say about using that name with me?"

"The allergy made him need to **go to the kitchen** ," Helen continued, ignoring Chloe's outburst.

"And that's when the **killer attacked him**!" Aiger finished with a nod.

"Then the killer **sealed his wound with the duct tape** ," Zoey continued, "and then **moved his body** to the front of the hotel."

"And then that is where he was **finally killed** ," Morgan said solemnly.

Rin frowned. "So we have a sequence of events, but not much else,"

"So, is that it? Do we really have _**no more clues**_?" Jacen asked.

Matt let out a sigh. "It does seem like we don't have much else to discuss. Even with a sequence of events, we **can't do anything with them** unless we know a killer, or at least a suspect."

" _Actually, that's wrong!"_ Kasuka corrected Jacen.

 **BREAK!**

* * *

"We actually have one very big clue that we're overlooking. During our investigation of Hibiki's body, we found a thin piece of black fabric pinned underneath his body. We suppose that this likely came from the killer."

"So the killer attacked Hibiki with the kitchen knife, but accidently let part of their clothing on him. Am I understanding this right?" Luna asked, seeking clarification.

Shirahime nodded in response. "Yes, that s-seems to be what happened. I-If I may also bring this up, the cuts on Hibiki were sort of w-weird." The white-haired girl slid her mask over her face as she stumbled through her sentence.

"Weird?" Rin questioned. "In what way?"

"Well, they seemed like they were done by someone very good with a blade. They were all deep and precise, something someone who hadn't fought with a knife or a similar bladed weapon before wouldn't be able to do."

"So our culprit wears something black and is good with blades." Zoey thought for a moment before suddenly snapping up, a sudden realization flashing in her mind. "Gotcha! It was you, Matt, wasn't it?"

The Swordsman's demeanor did not change. "You are now suspecting me, it seems. For what reason, exactly?" Matt questioned coldly, his glare unflinching.

"I must admit, he does fit our profile of the killer so far," Abe concluded, raising a hand to his chin. "He's wearing black, and as the Premier Swordsman he'd definitely be good with bladed weapons."

"Dammit, Matt!" Caroline seethed, "I thought you were someone who wouldn't do this kind of thing! And yet you murdered Hibiki! Why?"

The Swordsman shook his head. "You're acting like it's been proven that I'm the culprit, when it hasn't. I assure you, voting for me would only lead to all of us being executed."

"Enough! One more chance to prove your innocence, right here, right now!" Caroline jabbed an accusatory finger at Matt.

* * *

 **Non-Stop Debate: Begin!**

" **...** " Matt said nothing, and instead simply looked at the other students.

"So Matt saw that Hibiki was sick, and knew that he'd likely return to the kitchen," Jacen began, choosing his words carefully.

"That is when he took the kitchen knife, and attacked Hibiki with it, likely using one deliberate cut to cause him to lose consciousness." Morgan continued the trail, lowering the brim of his hat. "Matt then used the duct tape to stop the bleeding so he could move Hibiki's body to the front of the hotel, where he then finished the job."

" **...** "

"But somehow a piece of his clothes came off, and ended up pinned under Hibiki's body, leaving an indisputable piece of evidence," Nikui finished, casting a glance at Matt.

Rin let out a sigh. "It does seem to all fit together."

Zoey nodded. "Yup. It also clears up the confusion about why Hibiki left his room, and also was still in day clothes. Though it doesn't clear up that other thing about his Kumapad….." Zoey's words trailed off.

Adriana shrugged. "I don't think it matters if he had his Kumapad or not." The Rapper leveled her glare at the Swordsman as she rubbed at her arm again.

" **..."**

The courtroom fell silent as the students awaited a response from Matt. He stayed quiet.

* * *

Abe swept his gaze across the courtroom. "So is that it? Does nobody have a rebuttal?"

No answer came from any of the students.

" **Well now, if you're done debating, we can move to voting!"**

It was then that something clicked in one of the students. An out-of-place statement. Something that didn't sit right with them from that last discussion.

"Hold on!" Helen suddenly exclaimed. "Before we move to voting, can I ask you a question, Adriana?"

The Rapper shrugged. "Sure, go ahead. If you're asking to cop a feel, you can do that later." Adriana gave a wink as she let out a light laugh.

The Dancer paused for a moment, before clearing her throat. "Adriana, how did you know about Hibiki's Kumapad?"

Adriana blinked, letting out only a small "Huh?"

"Zoey only mentioned that there was something else strange about Hibiki's body, regarding his Kumapad. She never mentioned that his Kumapad was still in his room, where we searched."

Adriana frowned, and began to twirl her hat around her hand. "Are you sure? I'm pretty sure you mentioned it earlier."

Zoey shook her head. "Neither of us mentioned it. You seem to know about it regardless."

"In fact," Helen began, "I would be willing to bet you used the rule Shichokuma added to return his Kumapad to his room, just to make this case more complicated."

Kasuka pushed up his glasses. "Not only that, you are also wearing black. Both your jacket and your tank top. Both are black."

"And you'd easily be able to move Hibiki's body," Nikui realized, recalling the ease with which Adriana had crushed her snow-glasses.

"And? Wouldn't I also have to be good with a blade as well?" Adriana shouted back, angrily slamming her hat back onto her head. "Didn't you guys see me at dinner, how I fumbled with my knife all meal? How could I make such cuts, huh?"

Suddenly, something came flying at Adriana from the direction of Jacen's stand. Quick as a flash, the Rapper's hand came up to catch it, twirling it around in her hand to hold it up. Her heart sank when she realized that Jacen had thrown a knife at her.

The Writer smirked. "Oh really? You seem pretty good with that, don't you?"

"Well, Adriana?" Matt asked, folding his arms.

"This is bullshit!" Adriana tossed the knife aside angrily. "Why are we acting like I'm the culprit? What about the Emo Swordsman over there?"

"Matt didn't know something that he shouldn't have!" Caroline shot back, eyes flaring.

"You can't vote for me unless you have evidence! And **you have no evidence, whatsoever**!"

" _THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE WRONG!"_ Jacen shouted, leveling his finger at Adriana.

"Oh yeah?" the Rapper spat back. "Prove it!"

"When we searched the kitchen, I found a bent fork. Back then, I didn't think much of it, but now I think I know what it was used for," Jacen gave a cocky smirk. "You've been rubbing at your arm for a while. I'm thinking that when you attacked Hibiki, things didn't go exactly as planned. He probably fought back, and hit you in the arm with a fork, which caused it to bend as he tried to fight you off."

"You don't know anything!" Adriana seethed, crushing her hat angrily.

"Unless you can provide a rebuttal, you're the one we're going to vote for." Rin leveled her trademark icy stare at the girl next to her.

"Y-You…" Adriana growled, her hat becoming more and more crumpled.

Nikui smiled. "You can't give one, can you? Allow me to crack this case wide open!"

* * *

 **Closing Argument: Begin!**

"This case all began at lunch, when Chloe ordered duck. This unknowingly triggered Hibiki's poultry allergy, causing him to get sick for the rest of the day. The killer took notice of this, and began to formulate a plan.

"First, they made a point of fumbling with their knife at dinner. This was to draw away attention from their true skill with a blade so they could eventually try and pin the act on Matt. Next, they left the library before Hibiki, took a knife from the kitchen, and went into hiding. They likely hid outside of the hotel, using the storm to conceal their position.

"Once Hibiki and Aiger returned to their rooms, the killer moved to hide in the kitchen, knowing that Hibiki's allergy would likely cause him to return, seeking relief.

"Hibiki eventually did return, and that's when the killer attacked him. However, things didn't go quite as the killer planned. Hibiki fought back. Using a fork he grabbed out of instinct, Hibiki was able to stab the killer in the arm, which bent the fork. The killer was eventually able to land a deep cut, causing Hibiki to fall unconscious.

"He would've likely died of blood loss if left alone, but no. The killer decided to make things a bit more complicated. They took a roll of duct tape from one of the cabinets, and used it to seal Hibiki's wound. Using their own strength, the killer dragged Hibiki's unconscious body to in front of the hotel.

"The killer then removed the duct tape and stabbed Hibiki repeatedly with precise strikes to finally kill him. What they didn't realize is that a thin strand of their black tank top came loose and was pinned underneath Hibiki's body. This would've helped them in pinning Matt as the culprit, had it not been for their next move.

"The killer decided to take Hibiki's Kumapad back to his room, using the new rule to gain entry. Shichokuma had likely told them about the rule, or they found it out through pure dumb luck. Either way, the killer placed his Kumapad back in his room and then left to go back to theirs, confident they had gotten away with the crime.

"And they would've as well, had Zoey's clever wording not caught them admitting information that they should never have known at the trial.

" **Adriana Andrade, the Premier Rapper, YOU'RE THE CULPRIT!"**

 **COMPLETE!**

* * *

The courtroom fell silent again at Nikui's declaration, save for the pounding of Adriana's fist into her podium. "Dammit, dammit, dammit," the Rapper repeated with each punch.

" **Well now, it seems we can finally move to the voting. Everyone, please use the levers in front of you to cast your votes for who you think the culprit is."**

One by one, the students made their selections. Once all the votes were in, Shichokuma gave a laugh of delight. **"Let's count the votes, shall we? Oh! It seems the majority of you voted for our resident busty Rapper. She apparently didn't get the memo and voted for our Emo Swordsman."**

Matt rolled his eyes at the bear's jab, as Shichokuma continued. **"Now then, let's see if you were right."** A giant wheel cake down from the ceiling, each section bearing the pixelated image of a student. The wheel spun around and around before finally settling on Adriana's face. Coins pooled out of the wheel as a message displaying "Congrats!" lit up repeatedly.

" **Nyuk, nyuk! You were all correct; the one who offed our Chef was none other than Miss Adriana Andrade!"**

"Tch," was Adriana's only response as she slammed her hat to the ground in frustration.

"Why, Adriana?" Abe asked calmly, though the students could detect the calm fury behind his tone. "Why'd you have to kill Hibiki?"

Rin shook her head. "She probably had a reason for getting out of here. Perhaps someone she wants to get back to. Heaven knows I've got-"

"Don't give me that shit," interjected Adriana. "I killed because I refuse to die in this hell hole. You can leave that 'attachment' shit at the door."

Kasuka let out a sigh. "Even then, I can see your desire to escape. Being trapped in a difficult scenario can drive anyone to drastic measures."

Adriana gave a mirthless chuckle. "Oh please. You don't know shit about hard, not until you've lived a life on the streets; Not until you've been left on a street corner days before your fifth birthday; not until you've been forced to kill and steal just to get by. Only then can you tell me the meaning of hard."

The trial room fell silent once again as the students took in Adriana's revelations. The Rapper scoffed.

"If you're thinking about pitying me then you can fucking forget it. I've survived this long without anyone's pity, and I sure as shit don't need it now."

"Adriana," Nikui began, only to be swiftly cut off by her.

"Stuff it. I've killed before, and had I not fucked up, I would've killed again without hesitation." Adriana let out a laugh. "You know, you were going to be my target, Nikki. You got lucky that Hibiki's situation fell in a neat little pile in my lap." Without waiting for a response, Adriana turned to Shichokuma. "Let's get this over with, bear. I'd prefer not to drag this shit out any longer."

Shichokuma snickered. **"Well then, I've prepared a very special punishment for Adriana Andrade, the Premier Rapper! Let's give it everything we've got! IIIIIIIT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"**

Shichokuma produced a gavel out of seemingly nowhere and banged it against a bright red button that had popped up. A display popped up, showing a pixelated Shichokuma cheerfully dragging away Adriana.

* * *

 **Game Over.**

 **Adriana has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!**

All of the students backed away cautiously as a chain shot out of the wall of the trial room, latching itself onto Adriana's neck, watching as it dragged her away. A screen lowered itself, turning on to reveal Adriana being dropped into..a river? Chains shot out of rocks on the bank, binding her limbs and waist in place.

 **Flowing Beats:** **Premier** **Rapper Adriana Andrade Execution:Executed**

Suddenly, a boulder came rushing down the river, ramming painfully into Adriana's left arm, before sliding off it and further down the river. Then another boulder came, and then another, and then another. Finally, with a sickening crunch, Adriana's left arm snapped off and floated away. The Rapper let out an agonizing scream of pain, only to see another boulder rushing towards her right arm. The students watched in horror as her right arm was painfully removed, and then her legs, leaving only her head and chest. Adriana's eyes slid up, barely clinging to life as yet another boulder rushed towards her. With a final _CRUNCH_ , her life was finally, mercifully extinguished. The Premier Rapper was dead.

* * *

"W-What the hell?" Aiger barely managed to eek out. He looked like he was ready to throw up from the sheer level of brutality displayed in Adriana's execution.

" **NYUK NYUK NYUK! Whoooooooooohoooooooooo! What a rush! Now get moving, you losers! There's a whole new district available for you to explore, so get to it!"**

As Shichokuma's laughed echoed throughout the trial room, the the students' fragile illusion of security shattered. One of their classmates murdered, another brutally executed. It caused every Premier in the room to question if survival really was possible.

* * *

 **Population of Central City: 14**

* * *

 **A/N: Before I end this chapter, a few things. First, a huge thanks to Superguy559 for sending in Adriana. She was a blast to have in the story, and I truly do wish I could keep her around longer. Additional thanks to both TheSparten21 and JCW18 for becoming the 2nd and 3rd betas for this fic, along with Gremblo. Big thanks to all!**

 **I would also like to give shoutouts to my fellow Spin-Off writers in The Kobold Necromancer, WinterSmith, The Celestial Sky Dragon, PettyPunk, BirblordAlmighty, Alter Ego AV, bellatrixshine, and of course Crit Fail, not only for starting this whirlwind of a series, but also for his new(self-written) spin-off Versailles Academy, which just closed submissions. Cheers and despair to all!**

 **Final shoutout goes to Yuuki Itsuka for their amazing artwork of some of the cast. If you want to see it, it's been linked on the ImageLinks page on TVTropes.**

 **Have a delightfully despairful day!**

 **Review Section:**

 **Little max:** _Well, someone certainly got executed. Hope that calmed your veins down._

 **BirblordAlmighty:** _Nope! But good guess!_

 **The Celestial Sky Dragon:** _Hehe sorry for the wait there. Hope you enjoyed the trial!_

 **McLogal:** _Yeah, I'm not proud of how I handled the motive. I'll definitely try to be better with the next one._


	9. Chapter 6: Expansion

**Chapter Six:Expansion**

* * *

 _ **10:00 AM, Day Two**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **City Streets (Plaza)**_

An uneasy silence hung over the trial room, Adriana's brutal execution still flashing through their minds. It was as if the execution had sucked all the life out of the room. Some, such as Helen and Shirahime, shut their eyes tightly, trying desperately to forget what they had just witnessed. Others, like Matt and Rin, merely folded their arms as they looked around the room, as if to gauge the reactions of everybody else.

Jacen was the first to move when he walked over to the knife that he had thrown at Adriana, picking it up and putting it back into his pocket with a sigh.

"May I question why you have that?" Abe narrowed his eyes slightly and faced the Writer. Jacen merely shrugged. "Self-defense. Why, do I need a better reason than that?"

Abe shook his head. "Not necessarily, but these are far from usual circumstances. Carrying a weapon around in a scenario such as this can lead us to some rather unsettling implications." The Politician turned his gaze towards Caroline. "I could say the same regarding your rapier and pistol."

"Well, maybe this dumb game is why I _should_ carry a knife!" Jacen fumed, throwing his arms out in exasperation. "I'd rather be armed in case someone tries this shit again." The Writer spat out his words before walking towards the elevator.

"Hold on!" Abe moved to chase after Jacen.

"Just drop it." Luna shook her head. "The last thing we need right now is to be fighting among ourselves. If there's one thing that I've learned in my life, it's that conflict in a situation like this won't solve anything. As overly cheesy as it may sound, we're going to need to work together if we want to avoid something like this happening again."

Kasuka replied with a low chuckle. "You truly believe it will be so simple? We all just went through the trial of a cold-blooded killer. I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that nobody else will fall to the temptation to kill, no matter what happens."

"That doesn't mean we can't at the very least try!" Luna shot back, before stalking off in the direction of the elevator, her ponytail whipping behind her.

"That certainly could've gone a lot better," Matt said dryly, adjusting the glove on his right hand.

"Regardless, Miss Skadi is need to work together if we want to have a chance of avoiding further bloodshed." Morgan emphasized his point with a tip of his hat.

Kasuka chuckled again. "Well, you can cling to that hope. Don't say I didn't warn you when we end up in this room again." With that, he too walked towards the elevator.

"To be perfectly honest, I sort of agree with him," Caroline said, pinching the brim of her hat. "I've seen what happens when people get pushed back to the wall." The Duelist shook her head grimly. "It's never pretty, no matter who it is."

"There is truth to that, sadly," Rin said as she clutched the locket around her neck. "But simply resigning ourselves to a repeat of this….event doesn't do anyone any good."

"So we're suddenly supposed to be all kumbaya and rainbows with people we just met? With people who have already proven have the guts to kill another person?" Chloe scoffed. "Like that's ever going to happen."

"It's something that we _have_ to do!" Helen's eyes flashed angrily. "I don't care who you are, where you're from, or how much money you have. We _need_ to work together. That's something you need through your thick skull, sooner or later."

The trial room fell silent, surprise a common reaction to Helen's sudden outburst. Chloe turned away from her podium angrily, before storming off towards the elevator.

Nikui's shoulders heaved with a long sigh. "We should just get out of here. We won't get anything done just by sitting in this place."

"Yes, that would be for the best." Rin nodded in agreement.

With one final look around the trial room, the students made their way to the elevator. The doors closed, and they gradually began to return to the surface.

With a "ting!" the elevator doors slid open once again, revealing the plaza, exactly how it was before they had descended. Once all of the students exited, the doors closed and the elevator rumbled back into the ground, with the fountain returning to its usual spot. The water began to gush once more as well.

Another period of uneasy silence hung over the students as they contemplated their next move. "So, what do we do now?" Caroline asked, lacing her hands behind her head.

Aiger shrugged. "I've got no idea. I would suggest getting some breakfast, but after that, I think I've lost my appetite."

"I agree, but we should still try and eat something," Zoey added with a weary shake of her head. "Someone passing out from hunger is the last thing we need right now."

Shirahime shut her eyes tightly. "But going back to the hotel would mean we have to pass Hibiki's b-body, right?"

Kasuka let out an annoyed huff. "Please. If my hunch is correct, and it usually is, the damn bear has had his body removed. Likely for the purpose of getting us to continue this game."

"If that truly is the case, then there would be no reason to not return to the dining hall," Morgan said.

"Then, I agree with Zoey, we need to eat something." Helen looked down at her feet. "What we just saw was horrible, but we can't just stop because of that. If the world stopped for every tragedy we'd go nowhere." Her eyes lifted, shining with a new determination. "We have to be strong, and do whatever we can to not end up down there again."

Abe gave the Dancer a small smile. "Well said. Now then, let's return to the dining hall and get some breakfast. After which, we should probably take the time to explore the new areas Shichokuma mentioned. Perhaps we can find something of value there."

"We gotta make our own food now, right?" Jacen grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "If only I was a better cook."

"Actually, I could do the cooking." Rin gave a shrug as everyone stared at her. "What? I like to cook. Is it that surprising?"

Morgan shook his head. "Not at all. If you would like, I can assist you. It would be no trouble at all."

"If you don't mind, the help would be appreciated," Rin said with a slight smile.

"Should we get going then?" Matt asked, turning his head to face the direction of the hotel.

"Yeah, let's." Zoey said, letting out a yawn.

* * *

 _ **10:50 AM, Day Two**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Hotel (Dining Hall)**_

"Another plate ready!" Rin called out, sliding the flapjacks onto a plate.

"Thank you," Morgan responded, taking the plate out of the kitchen, and out to the dining hall. Rin followed, carrying a stack for herself, along with a banana.

"These pancakes are delicious, Rin!" Aiger exclaimed with a wide grin as the Teacher's Assistant took a seat next to him. "How'd you get so good at this?"

The white-haired girl let out a soft giggle. "Heh, my girlfriend loves pancakes. She asks for them every time I make her breakfast, which is often." Rin's smile widened slightly, as if recalling good memories. "She's an _awful_ cook. Though, this is my first time making pancakes since…" her voice trailed off, smile disappearing as her hand moved once again to her locket.

Aiger, showing more common sense than anyone would've expected from him, didn't press Rin any further, instead returning to his pancakes.

Twelve of the remaining fourteen students sat around the many tables in the dining hall, eating and talking quietly with those who sat near them. The only ones not present were Chloe and Matt, both of whom had taken their food to their rooms; Chloe because she didn't want to be around "the plebs" as she put it, and Matt to simply get away from Caroline who, despite everything, was still pestering him. Although conversation filled the air, it was subdued; Hibiki's death and subsequent trial clearly still weighing heavily on everyone's minds.

Nikui wearily took a bite out his pancakes before leaning back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling. It was still hard to believe that in just over twenty-four hours he had been trapped in a city by a teddy bear, been forced to wear augmented reality glasses, found one of newfound classmates murdered, and been forced to sentence another to a brutal execution - a far cry from his normally dull life in Japan.

"So, do we go explore the new area Shichokuma mentioned?" Luna asked suddenly, resting her fork back on her plate.

Kasuka let out a yawn. "If that is the best option available to us right now. However, I wouldn't call it a stretch to say that there's likely some new form of motive waiting for us in this 'District Two,' as it is put on the map."

"Why wouldn't we? The bear will likely try and force us there anyway," Zoey replied in annoyance. "We might as well get it over with."

" **Damn straight I would!"**

Luna groaned, not bothering to look at Shichokuma . "Here to get us to go to the new area, I presume?"

" **You could put it like that. Now get off your asses and go to the amazing new area I painstakingly prepared for you sorry lot!"** The bear held up his claws for emphasis, his red eye flashing menacingly. Chloe and Matt walked in behind the bear, likely having been fetched from their rooms. Unless Nikui was mistaken, he thought he saw claw marks near Chloe's wrist.

"Ash leash," Aiger gulped with a mouth full of pancakes, "let us finish breakfast!"

" **I could let you finish, but you lot have already wasted enough time!"** A slight red glow surrounded Shichokuma. **"I go to all that effort to prepare a new area for you schmucks and you don't immediately explore it? That's what I call ungratefulness! And I! Hate! Ungratefulness! SO MOVE YOUR ASSES!"**

"Fine!" Jacen slammed his glass of orange juice back down onto the table. "We'll go to this new district!"

" **Excellent. Meet me at the Southern Gate in exactly twenty minutes! And don't be late!"** The hatted bear turned around and waddled out of the room, still muttering to himself about "ungrateful little twerps," or at least that's what Nikui heard.

"Utterly ridiculous," Chloe seethed, crossing her arms angrily. "To boss _me_ around like that! Again! And then to have the _gall_ to drag me!"

Zoey stood up, a loud yawn escaping her mouth as she stretched out her arms. "Nobody cares, Chloe. Let's just get this over with."

"I agree," Abe mused as he stood up too. "We have no other option available to us. We should at least take this one."

 _ **11:10 AM Day Two**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Southern Gate**_

The towering gate that had once occupied the southern edge of the first district had swung open, revealing the second. It was much like the first; empty streets, everything seemingly wrapped in a dull gray, save for a few blotches of color here and there, and an overwhelming silence that seemed to swallow everything whole.

Shichokuma stood, waiting in front of the new entrance. **"Finally, you're here! Took you long enough, nyuk nyuk!"** The bear chortled before gesturing to the now open gate. **"As you can see, District Two is now open. Please, explore it all you'd like. I'm sure there are many interesting things for all of you to find! Nyuk nyuk!"**

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Shirahime asked flatly from behind her mask.

" **Do you really think I'd ruin the fun? What's in this district is for you to find yourselves! I would never ruin something like this! That'd be like spoiling what happens in the latest superhero blockbuster, and we can't have that! So get to exploring! Now!"**

Shichokuma turned around and walked into the new district, his laugh echoing behind him.

Abe watched the bear depart with an annoyed sigh. "Let's just get started, shall we?"

* * *

 _ **12:00 PM Day Two**_

 _ **District Two**_

 _ **Supermall (Floor Six)**_

The multi-floor Supermall stood at the westmost end of District Two. Sporting a lobby, another thirty floors with a variety of goods, and an accessible roof, the building towered over most others in the district. It contained a large elevator in the center, connecting to the other floors, as well as a set of stairs to the side.

However, some of the products available were… strange, to say the least. For instance, floor three contained a very wide selection of poisons and floor twelve had nothing for purchase - it was instead a coliseum-like area, with what appeared to be real weapons lining the walls. The strangest of all was floor eight, which housed nothing but apple-related products. Apple juice, apple-shaped pillows, anything and everything had something to do with apples.

Rin raised an eyebrow as she gazed around the sixth floor, which was stocked high-to-low with bear-themed cooking supplies.

"You didn't find anything either?"

She looked up to see Zoey coming up the stairs from the fifth floor.

The Teacher's Assistant shook her head. "Nothing useful, I'm afraid. I guess we should've expected this store to be just as insane as the rest of this city."

Zoey gave a slight chuckle. "Yeah. Not much has made sense here."

Just then, a chime sounded, causing the pair to turn around to see Chloe stepping out of the elevator, her trademark scowl still present.

"What kind of store carries moon-themed bowling balls, but has no clothes whatsoever? Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous," the Queen Bee huffed as she crossed her arms angrily.

"Seriously? You're worried about buying new clothes here?" Zoey asked incredulously.

"Of course," Chloe sneered in response. "A skank like you might not care, but I always need to look better than the rest of you plebs."

Zoey's eyes flared dangerously. "Excuse me?"

The Queen Bee raised her head, a smirk forming. "You heard me."

"If I may ask," Rin stepped between the other girls, trying to diffuse the situation. "You two are both French, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Zoey asked, curling her right hand into a fist to stop herself from attacking Chloe.

"If I'm not mistaken, there is a similar school to S.T.S. in France, right? Versailles Academy, or something like that? Why didn't you two attend that school instead of S.T.S.?" The white-haired girl looked down. "I mean, I only applied for S.T.S. since Hope's Peak Academy in Japan was shut down temporarily for major renovations."

Zoey stepped back with a roll of her eyes. "VA is really, well, stingy with who they accept. I knew I didn't have a chance, so I didn't bother applying. No point in setting myself up for failure. That's more than she can say." The Rhythm Game Player jabbed her thumb in Chloe's direction.

The Queen Bee looked away with a "tch" of annoyance. "Please. That school's principal has the tightest ass around. You can only get in if you're an 'Elite.'" Chloe spat out the last word in mockery. "As if I'd go to a school like that. Why else would I go to a school with you plebs?"

Zoey rolled her eyes. "Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel any better," she muttered.

Chloe whipped back around. "And? You couldn't get in either! So what the fuck do you know?"

"Oh? And here I thought you simply didn't want to go to that school," Zoey smirked. "Seems like there's a bit of a contradiction there."

"That's because.. I mean…. Augh!"

"Still the same as always," Zoey muttered as she took a seat near the window while Chloe stormed off.

Rin took the other chair. "She certainly is a handful."

Zoey let out a sigh as she looked out the window. "If I'm being honest, I'm worried about her. I've known her practically my whole life and I've only ever seen her be this nasty to people when she's put under a ton of stress. I know I'm not doing a very good job at keeping myself in check around her, but quite honestly, I sort of feel bad for her when she gets like this. Makes me miss the old days between us."

Rin tilted her head to face the blonde girl. "If you don't mind me asking, what caused you two to grow apart?"

Zoey shook her head. "No, it's fine. Truth be told, I don't have all the details. Something happened with her mother, that's all I know. Suddenly she's far nastier than she ever was, yet is somehow growing more popular. Then we had a big fight about it. Some nasty words were exchanged, and we pretty much became like we are now." The girl let out a long sigh. "That was five years ago. It still feels like it was last week."

Rin was silent for a few minutes, her thoughts churning as her left hand clutched her locket. "Is there truly no way for the two of you to reconnect?" she asked suddenly.

"I don't think that's possible at this point," Zoey muttered bitterly, returning her gaze to the window.

"It's never too late," Rin's eyes turned downcast, filled with an emotion that Zoey couldn't quite place. "While you're both still alive, it is never too late. Even if you fail to become friends again, it would still be better than leaving things unsaid. I know that only too well."

Zoey rolled her eyes, standing up from her chair. "Just forget it for now, okay? We need to get back to searching this place."

Rin closed her eyes in defeat, standing up as well. "If you say so."

* * *

 _ **1:43 PM Day Two**_

 _ **District Two**_

 _ **Diner**_

"I've got to admit, this is pretty good," Jacen said, setting down the burger he had ordered.

"Glad to see you're enjoying it," Helen deadpanned, sipping on her glass of lemonade.

The Writer offered an unapologetic shrug. "Eh. Food is food. And this is good food. You'll see what I mean." He gestured towards the small plate of french fries being brought out by a black and white Shichokuma, though this one lacked the top hat and monocle.

The Dancer gave a slight pout as the fries were set down in front of her.

The pair sat in one of the booths in the 90s style diner that sat along the edge of the second district. Nearby, Shirahime sat on a stool, nursing a cup of tea, while Matt stood off to the side, nibbling on a corn dog.

Helen looked towards the window. "We probably shouldn't be wasting any more time eating here. Though, I'm not sure I even want to do any more investigating after what happened earlier."

"I-I'm sure it's fine," Shirahime said, shaking her head. "Nobody said we had to be back by a certain time."

"Still though," Matt walked over, tossing the corn dog stick into a nearby trash can. "Wasting too much time here would not be good. There still are things we need to investigate."

Helen shut her eyes. "No, I agree with Shirahime. After what happened earlier I don't think we should rush things. We've still got plenty of time after all."

"Well I still thi-" Matt was suddenly cut off by Jacen. "Just let it go. We've got plenty of time, and we're all still processing what happened at the trial."

The Swordsman's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're one to talk, considering the stunt you pulled."

"I seem to recall that 'stunt' saving our lives," Jacen snapped back, standing up quickly.

Matt's gaze remained steadfast. "We would've voted for Adriana even without that stunt. You were just showing off."

"Well at least I'm not a total prick to everyone!" Jacen took another step towards Matt.

"Guys, please stop!" Helen shouted, slamming her fist into the table as she rose to her feet, causing the two to look over at her. "I know emotions are running high right now, but we can't fight like this! I realize I'm not one to talk like I'm unaffected by what happened earlier, but this isn't how we should go from here. If this continues, we'll end up right back in that horrid trial room! I don't know about you, but I want to avoid that at all costs. What's that line from that movie again?" Helen tapped her chin in thought. "Oh right! A tower divided against itself will fall! Or something like that…"

Silence echoed throughout the diner, Jacen and Matt staring at the Dancer, wide-eyed. The girl blinked, unsure of the reason for their reaction. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

Jacen let out a small chuckle as he shook his head side to side in amusement. "If Abe were here, I'm sure he'd slap you for that."

"W-What? Why?" Helen stammered, a slight blush forming on her cheeks.

Matt shook his head. "Forget it," the Swordsman muttered, sitting down at one of the stools. "As to your points, Helen, they reek of naïveté. It's easy enough to spout platitudes about working together, but in a situation like this, someone is going to crack eventually. Shichokuma's motives are only going to make it that much harder."

Helen glared angrily at the green-eyed boy. "And? You could at least be a bit optimistic! Stop acting like it's a certainty that we're going to have to go through another trial, because it isn't!"

The Swordsman scoffed. "If you'd seen what I've seen, I don't think you would still hold that sentiment," he said darkly.

Helen was about to snap back, when Shirahime suddenly interrupted. "I-Is it just me or does this tea taste w-weird?" she asked, setting down her cup. "The water doesn't taste normal at all."

Matt's face fell into a frown. "Now that you mention it, water does taste a bit strange here. Almost like it's been excessively purified or filtered."

"But why? Is there something wrong with the water supply?" Helen's brow furrowed as she regarded her glass of lemonade.

Jacen gave a sigh. "Perhaps our captors wanted us to have weird tasting water. It's no use thinking about it. It's not like we can do anything about it. We just have to accept it, like everything else in this damn city."

Shirahime frowned as she took another sip of tea. "It doesn't seem like the water is going to do anything h-harmful to us. So if that's the case, then I d-don't think it's that big of a deal."

"Still though, it's something we should remember," Helen said finishing off her glass of lemonade before giving Shirahime a wide grin, her previous anger

at Matt all but forgotten. "Thanks for pointing it out, Shirahime!"

The Kunoichi timidly shook her head from side to side. "D-Don't mention it. I-I learned all about finding clean water from my c-clan. S-So I'm just a bit better at n-noticing things like that."

"Your clan?" Jacen asked, arching an eyebrow.

The white haired girl nodded. "Y-Yeah. They were the ones who raised me. E-Even though I was an outsider."

"You mean, you were adopted in?" Helen's tone was cautious, as if trying to not step over any boundaries.

Shirahime looked down to the ground, her voice barely above a whisper. "T-That's correct. My p-parents d-d-died when I was a baby. My c-clan took me in."

"You never knew your parents, huh?" Matt muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets.

A heavy silence filled the air as the students took in Shirahime's revelation. The white haired girl's head quickly shot up, her eyes wide. "O-Oh no I d-didn't mean to k-kill the mood! I-I'm not t-that bothered by it a-anymore! I s-swear!"

"If you say so," Jacen said, giving the girl a reassuring smile.

"Well, let's get going then," Helen said, standing back up, stretching her arms above her head before setting off briskly towards the exit of the diner, Matt following behind her. Shirahime was about to follow them when she felt Jacen place a hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn around to face him.

"Meet me in the library at midnight. I want to talk about you know what," he said softly, careful to not let Matt and Helen overhear him. Shirahime blinked for a moment, before offering the boy a slight nod.

Jacen gave a small smile. "Alright. I know I can trust you with this." With that, he followed Matt and Helen out of the diner, leaving a slightly stunned Shirahime behind him, before she quickly snapped out of it, hurrying back to join the others.

* * *

 _ **2:00 PM Day Two**_

 _ **District Two**_

 _ **Shooting Range**_

The loud bang of a gunshot filled the room, followed by the sharp thwack of an arrow hitting its target.

The Premier Archer grimaced as she saw that her arrow had struck the target circle just a smidge farther from the center than Caroline's bullet, to which the Duelist let out a triumphant laugh.

"Hehehe! That's what you get for trying to outshoot a Carolean Duelist!"

Luna sighed, collapsing her bow. "First off, that's still not a thing. Secondly, this is a shooting range. Conditions are going to be more favorable to firearms no matter what."

"If you say so!" Caroline cackled, flipping her hat above her head.

The pair stood at adjacent stations of the ten total present at the large shooting range. Hanging from nearly every inch of wall space were multiple display racks containing many different types of guns and ammunition. Aiger and Abe both gazed at the displays, their faces conveying two very different emotions.

Aiger looked about ready to start gushing about the guns, or more specifically, the bullets themselves. Meanwhile, Abe's face was one of concern, a frown forming as he regarded the firearms.

"If you're going to comment on the concerning availability of firearms in a situation like this, I must admit I agree with you," Luna said, noticing the Politician's expression.

Abe nodded grimly in response. "Indeed. It would be quite easy for someone to take one of these weapons and use it. That's a scenario I take no pleasure in imagining."

"But what do we do about it?" Aiger spoke suddenly, placing the ammunition he was holding back into its case. "I don't see any locks on any of these cases, nor any way of making sure they stay in this building."

Caroline let out a long sigh, sheathing her pistol back into its holster. "I'd say we could just trust everyone to not take any of these, but given what happened this morning, that isn't an option."

"While I do agree somewhat, you could show just some optimism," Luna said, shooting the Duelist a glare.

"I told you before, I know what happens to people when they're pushed against the wall. No matter what happens, they'll eventually snap. Anyone will, if pushed enough. I'm sorry that I don't share blind optimism about our chances here," Caroline said, offering a mild look of annoyance.

"Even if that may be the case, merely resigning ourselves to such a fate gets us nowhere. While blind optimism isn't good, neither is being overly pessimistic. We should at least make an effort to do what we can to avoid another trial," Abe said.

"Then what do you suggest?" Aiger asked, folding his arms.

"For now, I think we should make daily checks on this building, making sure nothing is missing. The person responsible for these checks would also rotate daily, to make sure nobody uses their position to discreetly acquire a weapon," Abe listed out his plan with confidence.

Luna gave a soft smile. "That could work. Don't take this the wrong way Abe, but you kinda remind me of my grandfather. He always knows what to do, no matter the situation. You're like him in that regard."

"If that's high praise from you, it seems like you respect him a lot," Abe responded with a slightly awkward laugh.

The blonde girl nodded. "Yeah, I really do. He's the one who raised me after all, following my parent's deaths, so I honestly view him more as my father than anything else. He taught me everything I know about archery, starting back when I was just six," Luna let out a small laugh. "I remember him dragging me out of my bed every morning at dawn to watch the sunrise. It never got old, no matter how many times I saw it."

"At just six years old?" Caroline asked, impressed. "I mean, I started early as well, but not until I was eight!"

"No kidding! At six, my dad still had to shoo me away from the coals in his workshop!" Aiger said, a wide smile on his face.

Luna was about to respond when the door to the shooting range swing open, and Nikui walked in. The Comedian looked troubled by something.

"Hello, Nikui. Is something the matter?" Abe asked, regarding the taller boy.

"You guys should come with me. We found something that you'll want to see."

* * *

 _ **2:30 PM Day Two(Half an hour earlier)**_

 _ **District Two**_

 _ **Ice Rink**_

Nikui shivered as he let out a frigid breath, rubbing his arms in a futile attempt to warm himself up.

 _And this is what I get for not having a jacket._

The large ice rink stood inside a proportionally large circular arena, hosting rows and rows of seats as if it was a stadium. Along the edges of the rink itself were what appeared to be advertisements. Like everything else in the city, they were strange, boasting slogans like "Save today with SleetGeek! For all of your sleeting needs!", or "Yets Law Firm, we still beat the ticks!" However, the weirdest one by far was an advertisement for "The Putrid Penguins and the Mystery of the Missing Sabertooth Power Gem." Nikui had a feeling that said movie was probably in the theater somewhere and that Caroline would likely force Matt to watch it.

Sighing, Nikui turned his attention to the other two occupants of the arena. Kasuka stood near the entrance of the arena, gazing up at the upper bowl of seats. Meanwhile, Morgan stood nearby, gazing out to the rink itself. The Comedian's eyes narrowed as he regarded the Psychologist.

" _Well, you can cling to that hope. Don't say I didn't warn you when we end up in this room again."_ Nikui gritted his teeth as he recalled the red-eyed boy's earlier statement. _How can he say something like that? Does he just not care at all for anyone else's life?_

"This is most peculiar," Nikui was snapped out of his stupor as Kasuka's voice rang out suddenly.

"What is?" The Comedian's voice dripped with an uncharacteristically suspicious malice.

Kasuka's signature chuckle escaped him as his red eyes gleamed from behind his glasses. "This entire building. It goes against any other notion we had about this place as a whole. Remember, if you will, our first thoughts regarding the inaccessible buildings. We first guessed that they were simply dummies, drawing the conclusion that perhaps this entire city was specifically built as a prison for us. Yet, this stadium seems to contradict that notion. Why expend the resources to build a stadium of this size, to be used by just sixteen students? I think you can agree that it doesn't add up."

"Does anything add up here?" Nikui countered, folding his arms. Kasuka merely offered a lazy shrug in response.

"For what it is worth," Nikui jumped slightly at Morgan suddenly joining the conversation. "I have also taken note of what appear to be sealed entrances to some underground area on the streets. I had assumed them to be sealed exits, but considering this building, it is entirely possible that a subway system runs underneath us."

"A subway system? If that is the case, then we need to reconsider the very nature of this entire city, don't we?" Kasuka said, adjusting his glasses.

Nikui sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Great. As if this place wasn't complicated enough as is." Suddenly, something caught the corner of the Comedian's eye, causing him to turn back towards the rink.

"That door," he said, extending his finger to point it out, "doesn't it look a bit suspect?"

Kasuka narrowed his eyes. The door appeared to be a fairly regular entrance to a supply closet, but it seemed as if it had been blown slightly off the hinges, along with there being numerous small holes in the door itself.

The trio walked around the rink to the door, Nikui hesitantly pushing it open. At that moment, none of them were prepared for the sight that awaited them.

As they had suspected, it was a rather large supply closet, with numerous boxes stacked on shelves that lined the walls. However, that was far from the most shocking thing about the room. Strewn across the floor lay multiple dead bodies, each one charred to a crisp, limbs twisted to unnatural angles. The overwhelming stench of rotting flesh hit the Premiers like a tidal wave, nearly causing Nikui to puke on the spot. Even the usually unflappable Morgan looked queasy.

The only one seemingly unaffected was Kasuka, who merely wrinkled his nose before casually walking into the room, stepping over the bodies to reach the back shelf. Steeling their guts, Nikui and Morgan followed.

When they reached Kasuka, the Psychologist had pulled out one of the boxes, revealing its contents. The box was full of vials of liquids of various colors, each individually labeled. Kasuka frowned as he pulled one out, the label reading "OF-118". "This is quite intriguing…." the Psychologist muttered as he proceeded to check the other vials.

"We find a room full of dead bodies and you're interested in some _chemicals_?" Nikui couldn't keep the shock out of his voice.

Kasuka shrugged, placing the box back on the shelf. "It's not as if we've never seen a dead body before. Besides, it's clear we've stumbled across some sort of crime scene. And in my experience, the best thing to do first is to try and figure out what the cause of death is."

Morgan forced his gaze away from the bodies to stare at the red-eyed boy. "I am assuming that you believe those chemicals have something to do with how these.. people died?"

"We can't assume anything, especially considering how little we know about this situation, but figuring out what these chemicals are would be a good start." Kasuka's red eyes gleamed. "But when we consider the unknown identities of theses corpses, it's clear we've stumbled on quite the mystery here. Kukuku, this will be very, _very_ , interesting."

"Are you capable of having _any_ regard for human life?" Nikui snapped, fighting the rising bile in his throat, before shaking his head angrily. "Don't bother answering that. For now, we should fetch the others. They'll want to know about this."

Morgan nodded in agreement. "Yes, that would be the best course of action. And besides," the Barber glanced back at the bodies, " I would rather not stay in this room any longer."

The pair filed out of the room, leaving Kasuka alone. The Psychologist was about to follow, when his Kumapad buzzed. Smirking, he pulled it out of his pocket and gave it a few taps, before putting it away and leaving the room.

This would be very interesting indeed.

* * *

 **Population of Central City:14**

* * *

 **A/n: So, so, so, very sorry about this wait. There's been some circumstances in my life, but they should be sorted now. The next chapter shouldn't take nearly as long. The review section will also be back next chapter. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	10. Chapter 7: Incineration

**Chapter Seven:Incineration**

 _ **3:30 PM Day Two**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Hotel(Dining Hall)**_

Abe grimaced as he and Morgan set the box they held down on one of the centermost table. Roughly half an hour earlier, the Premiers has gathered in the ice rink, started by the discovery of multiple dead bodies within the supply closet. Silence was heavy in the room, nobody being able to find the right words to say.

"So, are we going to talk about that?" Jacen asked, breaking the ice. "I mean, it's not like we're going to get any answers from the bear," he added with a roll of his eyes.

"I'm not sure what there is to talk about," Zoey huffed.

"Maybe the fact that we found a room full of dead bodies?" Chloe snapped, gesturing angrily to the box of chemicals that still sat on the table.

"Just thinking about it makes me want to puke," Helen admitted, hugging her shoulders as she looked down at the ground.

Kasuka smiled darkly. "Really now? It's not like you haven't seen a dead body before." The boy's chuckling was cut off with a sharp glare from Rin, to which the boy offered a haphazard shrug in response.

"Regardless, we should at least discuss this discovery," Abe said, raising his head. "Especially these… chemicals?" The Politician's face crept into a deep frown as he regarded the unknown liquids.

"Even if we don't know what they are, we can at least be reasonably sure of one thing," Rin said, resting her chin in her hand. "Whatever these fluids are, be they poisons or chemicals, they are likely the cause of the deaths we discovered."

"And if that is what they do to people, we have to be very careful in our handling of them," Morgan said.

"Or we could test them."

The room went silent at the suggestion, which had surprisingly come from Luna.

"Are you fucking insane!? You want us to test this shit on ourselves!?" Zoey cried.

"Oh no no no, nothing like that!" Luna shook her head rapidly as she frantically waved her arms in front of herself. "I was thinking we could try pouring them on those humanish dolls that are in the supermall. You know, the really creepy ones with the pink hair and the axe?"

"That makes about as much sense as testing them on ourselves," Matt deadpanned. "It's not like they're real humans or anything."

The Archer shook her head again. "Well, if the chemicals work through ingestion, than it's pointless. But, if they work on contact…" Luna trailed off, suddenly unsure about her idea.

"Then we could use them to try and create an escape route!" Caroline exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.

Nikui smiled. "That's not a horrible idea, actually."

"What are we waiting for then?" Helen nearly shouted, her feet tapping eagerly against the floor as if ready to break out into dance.

Abe shook his head. "We're not going to wait for anything, because we're not doing it."

"Why not?" Caroline asked, frowning.

Matt let out a long groan of exasperation. "If you legitimately thought that it was a good idea, you're more moronic than I thought."

A look of indignation crossed the Duelist's face. "And what makes you say that?"

"For one, if they're explosive, it'd be far too easy for one of us to get caught in the blast, and if they're corrosive, we wouldn't have any way of safely testing them." Matt leveled his gaze towards Luna. "Next time, think before you speak, please."

A heavy silence fell over the group once more. The short lived elation some had felt was quickly crushed like a flower under an uncaring boot.

Nikui chuckled bitterly. "Well, I guess we should've thought that one through before getting our hopes up, eh?"

"Yeah, probably." Helen said, her shoulders slumping.

"W-Well, what now?" Shirahime asked.

"I think we should start by moving this back to the ice rink," Jacen said, gesturing to the box.

"I can help with that," Luna said, raising her hand slightly.

Morgan gave the girl a warm smile. "If that is what you wish, I shall assist you. The box is quite heavy."

"That would be great, thanks," Luna replied, smiling back.

With that, true two hefted up the box and carried it out of the dining hall and towards the ice rink.

"So do we just do whatever now?" Caroline asked, fidgeting with the buttons on her uniform.

"I suppose," Rin said. "That being said, I do think we should impose a curfew."

"A curfew?" Zoey asked.

The Teacher's Assistant nodded. "Such a thing would help maintain some security. It would also make it harder for anyone to attempt something like Adriana."

"I think we should make sure everyone is back within the hotel by the beginning of nighttime," Abe said. "With that, it becomes much easier for everyone to be monitored."

"Monitored!?" Chloe snapped, glaring at the Politician. "You want to _monitor_ us? How do we know we can even trust you?"

Abe shook his head quickly. "No, no. That's not what I meant. If everyone's in the hotel, it makes it easier for all of us to keep an eye on one another."

"Oh sure. Like any of us can believe a thing you say," the Queen Bee seethed back, sweeping her glare across the room. "For that matter, why should I trust any of you?"

The Politician's brows furrowed. "The only way we're going to survive this is if we trust each other. Surely you can see that?"

"Like hell I can! We _just_ a murder last night. And now you're expecting me to just trust all of you? Sorry, no. I'll stick to myself!" The Queen Bee whipped around and stormed out of the dining hall, angrily muttering to herself.

"I do quite agree with Chloe," Kasuka said as he stood up and began to leave. "Curfews don't immediately translates to 'No murder'. After all, we can always choose to not follow it."

Jacen let out a long sigh, rolling his eyes. "Well, that was _completely_ unexpected, now wasn't it?"

Caroline snorted. "Well, if she wants to be like that, it's not like we can stop her."

"True," Rin said, her gaze focused on the exit door. "But we still should attempt to cooperate. And that applies to all of us. Whether we like it or not, we need to do all we can to survive." The white-haired girl shook her head with a slight chuckle. "But that's enough of that. For now, let's all just take some time to ourselves and do what we want. Let's just all agree to be back at the hotel by the beginning of nighttime, alright?"

A brief chorus of consent sounded from the assembled students, and with that, the group dispersed.

* * *

 _ **4:17 PM Day Two**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Library(Lounge)**_

The Premier Teacher's Assistant closed the book she was reading with a sigh, not bothering to turn to face the new occupant of the room. "What do you want?" she asked, taking off her reading glasses.

"Well, I certainly should've expected such a cold response from you. Alas, it still hurts," Kasuka replied with a cheeky grin.

Run turned her ice-cold gaze on the Psychologist. "Do you actually have something you want, or are you just here to annoy me?"

The red-eyed boy chuckled as he took a seat across from her. "Who said it wasn't both?"

Rin rolled her eyes and grabbed her book, intending to ignore the Psychologist. That soon proved futile as she felt something collide with her forehead. Rubbing the mark, it became apparent that Kasuka had flicked a coin at her. Her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits as she regarded the boy across from her. "This is your last chance to tell me what you want before this book goes into your face."

Kasuka offered a bemused shrug. "Fine, fine. I came to ask you a question."

"And that would be?"

The boy's eyes darkened. "Do you really believe what you said earlier?"

Rin raised an eyebrow. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"About all of us cooperating. Do you really believe that will change the end result of this game?"

The Teacher's Assistant was silent for a moment, her eyes closed. "I'm not going to pretend that it'll solve all of our problems. But do I think that we can prevent another murder? Yes, I do."

Kasuka leaned back, a small smirk on his face. "Really now? That's quite a bold assumption."

Rin's gaze was neutral. "I don't think it's an assumption at all. I do think we can all get out of here."

"And of course, it wouldn't be all of us, now would it?"

A deathly quiet set into the room once more. Kasuka squinted his eyes as he stared at Rin.

"That belief that you can save everyone… You remind me of a certain person," Kasuka smirked. "You even look the same if I squint hard enough. Light blue hair, all black clothing, and then there's also the time when you wear your reading glasses. Yes, you two do look alike."

"And pray tell what happened to him," Rin asked.

"He's dead," Kasuka said simply. "He died with the belief that he could save everyone and he died like a failure who couldn't even save himself. He's quite the fool wouldn't you agree?"

"Tell me something, Kasuka," Rin began after a few minutes. "How do you lack such empathy, such disregard for human life? Quite honestly, I'm not sure what to make of you, and I consider myself a fairly good judge of character."

The Psychologist merely offered a smile.

"Well, if you want to ask me a question, then I feel like I'm owed another answer from you, right?" His red eyes gleamed with a mixture of mischief and malice. "I'd like the story on that locket of yours."

Rin visibly stiffened, her hand instinctively clutching over the piece of jewelry still around her neck.

Kasuka smiled. "I've hit a nerve, it seems. If I had to guess, it has something to do with your girlfriend that you mentioned earlier. But then you stopped before I got to hear any details. Such a shame, honestly. I'd love to hear the rest of the story."

The white-haired girl turned away. "That's none of your concern."

"Really now? Didn't you just finish saying how we should cooperate? Personally, I find openness a big part of being able to trust, and by extension, work with someone." The boy pushed up his glasses. "But perhaps that's just me. Regardless, I don't really care about your locket."

Rin's brow furrowed in confusion. "Then why make a point of asking me about it?"

Kasuka chuckled once more. "Simply because I wanted to prove to you your own hypocrisy. You're so insistent on us cooperating, yet here you are, holding a secret. Now of course, your locket is very likely nothing serious. Yet, if it is so difficult for you to share something benign, what confidence can you have that nobody is hiding something worse?"

"That's a fairly black and white way of looking at things. Just because someone has a secret, it doesn't mean they can't work with others. Were that the case, the world itself wouldn't function."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Yes, it is true that everyone is hiding something, and that in normal life, our secrets don't prevent normal life from going smoothly. However, this is far from normal life," Kasuka replied, a smirk still present on his face. "This game, and by extension the city itself, seems to be designed for to purposefully push our backs to the wall. I think you would agree with that statement, no?"

Rin leveled her gaze on the boy. "Perhaps. But do I think we have the ability to outlast it? I do."

Kasuka smiled. "I wonder how you can remain so positive despite witnessing murder. Makes me curious as to how my cousin would react to you."

The boy sighed as he turned around, setting his gaze upon the small bookshelf in the lounge. "I suppose I should answer your question now. About my supposed disregard for human life."

Rin remained silent, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"As a psychologist, I've met with a lot of people. Good, bad, and every shade in between. I've seen the brightest souls be crushed, and the darkest rise anew. Through all of this, I've come to realize one thing about the human race." Kasuka's voice dropped to a dangerous tone. "It is pathetically predictable in its savagery. People will lie, cheat, steal, and kill if it benefits them. They'll commit atrocities in the name of their own ideals. They'll go to war in pursuit of their own idea of justice. Now tell me, am I supposed to have empathy for a race like that?"

"Though at the very least," Kasuka chuckled as he looked at Rin. The teacher's assistant shuddered at this gaze. "Humanity is interesting."

The room was quiet for what seemed like an eternity. Rin's eyes were closed, lost in thought regarding Kasuka's revelation. It was at least another two minutes before she finally broke the ice.

"I don't think it's wrong to observe the faults in humanity. You are right, in a sense. Humans are horrible to each other. But like I said; we're not dictated by what others do. We do have the ability to survive this. And I will do everything I can to ensure that happens."

Kasuka gave another smile as he moved to leave the room. "Well, if that's what you truly think, I won't try to change your mind any further. I look forward to seeing if you really can save everyone else." With that, the boy walked out of the lounge.

Rin tried to return to her book, but she found herself unable to think of anything other than the conversation she had just had.

* * *

 _ **5:35 PM Day Two**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **City Streets(Fountain)**_

Jacen let out a long sigh as he stared down at his notebook. The Writer had been sitting on the edge of the fountain for the better part of two hours now, trying to write. Being near water usually helped him keep his head clear as he wrote, but today, he couldn't stop it from wandering. He had probably hadn't added even 50 words. At this rate, it would take him years to finish this book. If he lived that long, anyway.

He was stirred from his thoughts when he noticed Abe walking towards him, coming out of the hotel. The Politician had evidently gone to the kitchen for a snack, as he carried a half-eaten apple in his hand. It was then that Jacen realized that Abe must've gone past him before, without him noticing. Maybe he was more out of it than he thought.

In any case, he gave the taller boy a small wave.

"Working on your next book?" Abe asked, returning the gesture.

Jacen nodded, looking at the nearly blank page he was on. "Progress is slow, but yeah."

"Well, I think that it's good that you're trying to maintain your career, even within this twisted game. When we get out, we'll likely have to make up the lost time, eh?"

Jacen shook his head with a slight chuckle. "That's rather optimistic of you. Anyway, I'm not so much as trying to keep my career going. Writing is honestly more of an obligation nowadays."

Abe's eyebrows quirked. "Oh? Why's that?"

"It's more for my sister than anything. She's a year younger than me, but we were about as close as siblings could be. Believe it or not, she came up with the ideas for many of my books," the Writer replied.

"I'm guessing you want to get out and see her again, right?"

"Actually, no. Well, it's not that I don't **want** to see her, but I haven't in years. Due to some issues with my family, she moved in with a relative in Canada. We still keep in touch, though," Jacen said, his pen absentmindedly tapping on the paper.

Abe fell silent for a few seconds, a slight frown forming on his face. "Still, it's something to motivate you forward and out of this damn city."

"If you say so," Jacen said, shrugging.

The Politician was about to speak again, when he noticed another person walking towards the hotel. That person was Shirahime, and she appeared to be carrying a pair of books tucked under her arm.

Jacen gave the girl a small smile, eyeing the books she was carrying. "Hey. What did you get?"

"J-Just something that looked i-interesting," she quickly replied, holding up one of the books. The cover showed three people-two boys, one girl- standing on a hill overlooking a wide open field.

The Writer's smile widened. "That's _Sword of Flame_ , right? By Shinji Maeda? A classic, really. What about the other one?"

The Kunoichi held up the second cover, this one displaying a shot of multiple individuals hidden in shadows, their red eyes gleaming.

Abe recognized the book immediately. "That's _Legacy Plague_ , by Rike Feirona." The boy couldn't stop the smile from reaching his face. "I read that as a kid. Boy, does that take me back."

The white-haired girl nodded. "Y-Yeah. The author put so much heart into it. I can't h-help but smile when I read it."

"I never personally read it," Jacen began, snapping his notebook shut, "but Feirona is hailed as one of the best writers in his genre for a reason. You wouldn't find a writer alive in the mystery/horror subsect who hasn't read that book at least four times."

"Indeed," Abe agreed, "it truly is one of the best of its time. Anyway, I have things I need to get done. So I'll see the two of you later."

With that, the Politician walked away in the direction of District Two.

The other two Premiers watched the boy go, before turning back to face each other.

"Well, I suppose you'll want to get started on those books, eh?" Jacen gave Shirahime a small smile, slightly gesturing to the books she still carried.

"Oh, uh… y-yeah." Shirahime said, setting _Legacy Plague_ down, before opening _Sword of Flame_ and sitting down on the edge of the fountain, just a little bit away from where Jacen was already sitting.

About an hour passed, with nothing being said between the two, and not much noise aside from the turning of pages, the tap of a pen, and the soft gushing of the fountain.

"You know," Jacen said suddenly, looking at the still overcast sky, "you kinda remind me of a character I wrote once."

Shirahime blinked in surprise, unsure of how to respond.

The boy shook his head with a small chuckle. "Sorry, that was a weird thing to say."

"Oh n-no, it's fine. Wh-which character?"

"Well, she was from one of my earlier novels, and she wasn't even the main character. But, now that I think about it, you're a lot like her. You're both not that great around people, but you're also incredibly kind and strong. And kinda… cute…" Jacen trailed off, a small blush forming on his face as he realized what he had said.

Both of the teens looked awkwardly away from each other, both of them blushing at Jacen's comment.

"U-uh, I-I should g-go," Shirahime stammered out, before suddenly standing up and bolting in the direction of the hotel. However, as she was leaving, a book slipped out of her yukata and fell to the ground.

Jacen was about to call out to her when he noticed the cover of the book. It displayed a shirtless man, his muscles bulging in a suggestive pose. If Jacen hadn't been blushing before, he definitely was now.

Seeing no other option, with Shirahime already out of earshot, Jacen begrudgingly picked up the novel and tucked it into his jacket, so he could take it back to the library. For now though, he'd need to collect his thoughts.

* * *

 _ **7:00 PM Day Two**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **City Streets (Near the District Two Gate)**_

Aiger raised an eyebrow at what he was witnessing. Even in this crazy city, with a demonic teddy bear in a top hat, this was certainly the strangest thing he had seen.

Kasuka was carrying the pink haired mannequin with an axe, the same one Luna had mentioned earlier.

"What the heck are you doing?" Aiger asked, still unsure of what was happening.

"Oh hello," Kasuka grinned at the Metalworker. "I'm just taking this to my room. I found it kind of cute. Is there a problem with that?"

"And why would you do that?"

"For some decors," Kasuka shrugged. "My room's kind of plain."

"Are you even allowed to do that?" Aiger raised an eyebrow at the psychologist.

"I got permission from the bear," Kasuka replied simply. Aiger looked at him incredulously causing the young man to chuckle. "What?"

"You asked the bear… to put a life sized doll… in your room?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I did. I just asked the damn bear for permission to put this in my room," Kasuka shrugged. "It's not like I asked for some tips on how to murder. A doll in my room won't hurt anyone."

The psychologist started to leave again, taking the large doll with him. Aiger watched him as he left for his room, before he heard some footsteps from behind him and turned around, coming face to face with Caroline.

"He's a rather strange one isn't he?" Caroline said.

Aiger hummed, leaning against a street lamp as he took a sip from a water bottle. He glanced over at Caroline, frowning. "What's wrong with Kasuka? I don't understand him to be honest..."

The Duelist frowned slightly. "He just doesn't make sense. Earlier he was being an asshole, and now look. He's taking a creepy mannequin to his room."

"Actually, I think its a doll." Aiger deadpanned, chewing on a fingernail nervously as he looked up at the sky. "I don't see what use he'd have for it. Only girls like dolls, right?"

"Not always, I suppose. I mean, I was the type to run around the woods and play with sticks," Caroline replied, before her voice trailed into a barely audible whisper. "Of course, I never really **could** be much of a girl..."

"Oh, so did I!" The metalworker responded with a bright smile, not catching the tail end of her sentence. "And my sister did too. We used to duel tree branches like they were swords, and we pretended we were ancient heroes... I always liked to be Achilles, so my sister would always try to stab me in the heel..." Aiger smiled fondly at the memory, placing a hand over his heart. "Anyways, my point is, I think its cool that you played more like a boy. It's stupid that people always get worked up about stuff like that."

Caroline blinked in surprise, before letting out a small chuckle. "I guess you're right, in that sense. I suppose you could say I've been around people that cared a bit too much about all of that."

"Mmm, I see. I think." The ponytailed boy mused, closing his eyes in thought. "I grew up pretty secluded, up on a mountain in the woods. So when I struck it out on my own, I was super surprised to find out how many weird rules and stuff people have in the city. I mean, you need forks and knives when you eat? And a weird piece of paper in your lap? Food is food!"

Aiger ruffled his own hair with a loud sigh. "Anyways, you're not around those people anymore, right? So live how you wanna live! Your life is your own. And I think you're pretty cool, Caroline!"

The Duelist stood still for a moment, before turning around and pulling her hat down as far as it could go.

"I-I'm cool?" Caroline muttered to herself, the faint hints of a blush on her face. The young girl shook her head vigorously to try and collect herself, before facing Aiger once more.

"That's uh... pretty good advice actually," she said, still slightly flustered, before folding her arms with a smile. "You're actually really nice, you know that? And you know, I think you're exactly right. I mean, just look at you!"

"Haha, thanks!" The azure eyed boy laughed, before his face contorted into confusion. "Wait, what? What's that supposed to mean?" He pouted childishly, folding his arms across his chest.

The Duelist waved her arms around in a slight panic. "No, no, I didn't mean anything bad by that! I just," Caroline paused, her forehead wrinkling as she struggled to find the right words to say.

"Uh, let me put it this way. Despite all of us being trapped here, you're still being, well you! If that makes sense. I mean, everyone else seems to be pretending or hiding something and," her eyes drifted to the ground, "that could also apply to me, I suppose."

Caroline raised her head again. "But you don't seem to be doing anything like that. Of course, I could be wrong, but the way you act? It seems genuine. You're living how you want to live, despite all of this. So I guess that's what I meant, heh heh," the girl laughed awkwardly, scratching her cheek in embarrassment.

Aiger felt his shoulders righten and his face turn cherry red, a dopey smile on his face. "O-oh, thanks!" He straightened up, adopting a more serious look on his face. "And... I'm not as stupid as everyone thinks. I know what everyone thinks of me." Aiger leaned back against the street lamp, looking down. "I mean, yeah, sure... I don't understand some things as well as most people, and I'm not as good at casual conversation. I'm a wild child from the woods. But..." The Metalworker looked up at Caroline with a small smile. "I try not to let everyone get to me. And those people who say mean things about me... I don't wanna be friends with those people anyways."

"Well, like you said, you have to live how you want to live, right? So, being you does just that," Caroline responded, before giving an uncharacteristically girlish giggle. "And I think you're pretty cool yourself, Aiger. After all, if I ever need a new rapier, I know who to ask!"

Aiger chuckled, rubbing the bridge of his nose with a happy smile. "Hey, you got it! I enjoy making weapons, so just ask if you ever want one!" He shuffled his feet, humming in thought. "I'd like to make a sword for Matt too, but I'm not sure he likes me all that much..."

Caroline rolled her eyes playfully. "I'm pretty sure he doesn't like anyone. But I do actually want to see what he can do." The short girl sighed. "But I guess I'm just a little too pushy when it comes to that."

The Duelist gave a wide grin. "If you're asking me to teach you, say no more! I'll whip you into shape faster than you can say 'sword'!" Caroline exclaimed haughtily, before bursting into a giggling fit. "Sorry, got a tad bit carried away there. But, if you really want to learn, I'd be happy to teach you! If the supermall has a creepy life-size doll, I'm sure it has a practice sword or two in there."

Aiger snorted, a large smile on his face. "Screw that! Gimme 24 hours and I can make two myself!" Upon seeing Caroline giving him a look, the ponytailed boy cleared his throat. "Don't worry, I'll make sure these ones are safe."

"Well, if you could do that, that would be great. But... is there even a forge here?" Caroline asked, raising an eyebrow

"Oh. Yeah, not that I've seen..." The blue eyed boy deflated, drooping his head. "Looks like we'll be going to the mall after all..."

The Duelist smirked. "Well, I'm sure anything you'd make would beat out whatever we can find. But for now, we have to use what we can." Caroline pointed dramatically in the direction of the supermall. "Now! Onward to procure our weapons! Training begins tomorrow morning! At dawn! You better not be late!"

Aiger gave an overdramatic bow, laughing while doing so. "As you wish."

* * *

 _ **8:30 PM Day Two**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Movie Theater**_

"Remind me again why we're doing this?"

Matt leaned back into his seat, rolling his eyes before looking at the display screen, which was currently off.

"Oh come now. You know as well as I do that we need to talk. This is an innocuous place as any," Luna replied with a small shake of her head.

Matt let out a long groan of exasperation. "I told you before, I'm not with them any more."

"That may be, but you still never answered my question."

The Swordsman didn't answer, so the Archer pressed on. "I know you haven't forgotten. One year ago. When we first met. The robber in the street."

Still no answer.

"He was threatening the villagers, brandishing a gun. My grandfather was out, so I should've been the one to stop him, but I froze up. And then in you walk, and you strike him down like it was nothing, unarmed. You dodged a bullet there, _literally_!"

"...I was doing what should've been done," Matt said, closing his green eyes.

"That's not the point of the story, and you know that. The way you struck, how you moved. There's only one group that teaches people to fight like that. Only one group that carries the mark under that glove."

Luna paused, collecting a breath. "You never answered my question from back then. You never told me how you became a member of Fenrir."

A chilling silence seemed to creep into the air at the mention of the mercenary company.

"And you never told me how you even know of them," Matt retorted, still not looking at the Archer.

"Actually, I did. Both of my parents were members, remember?" Luna's voice took a quiet tone. "It's how they died. My grandfather couldn't keep the secret forever."

Matt was silent once more for a few moments. "My past doesn't concern you. At all."

"It does though!" Luna shouted, hands clenching. "My parents died because of that fucking group! I know they were killed by someone in Fenrir. Betrayed. If you know something, you have to tell me!"

The Swordsman scoffed. "Even if I did know anything about them, which I don't, what could you do about it? Find a way out of here? Track them down? Kill them in revenge? That's a fool's quest. And you know it."

"I don't care if it is! I need to find them. No matter what it takes," Luna's hands shook, her voice taking a dangerous tone as tears threatened to form. "Do you know how much my grandfather suffered because of them? How much my village suffered? How much _I_ suffered?"

Matt sighed, finally reopening his eyes to look at the Archer. "Look, I'm only going to tell you this once, and **only** because you saved my life. Fenrir members don't last long, unless they're special, and infighting is far more common than you would think. You told me that your parents died 9 years ago, when you were 8. There's almost no chance that the one who killed your parents is still alive."

Luna turned away from the boy, still shaking.

"Look, I can understand how you feel. But to go after Fenrir is suicide. Even if we get out of here." The Swordsman stood up, turning to look away from the Archer, who still had her back turned to him.

"It doesn't matter if I die," Luna replied, her voice dangerously low. "And if you can't help me, then I would've been better off leaving you in the snow."

The Archer stood up quickly and stalked out of the theater, leaving Matt alone.

"Way to keep people out of your messes, Matt," the Swordsman muttered bitterly to himself. He stood there, thinking, for a few minutes before he too, left the building.

* * *

 _ **6:36 AM Day Three**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Hotel (Floor 3 - Chloe Raincomprix)**_

Chloe woke suddenly in a cold sweat, panting heavily as she quickly sat up.

Cold reality slapped her in the face as she looked at her surroundings. She was still here. It was still not a dream.

The Queen Bee pulled her legs to her chest as her head hung low. Why wasn't it a dream? Why was it _never_ a dream?

The girl clenched her fists angrily as she glanced over at her nightstand. Dammit.

Sighing, the girl opened the door and pulled out a small bottle. How many times had she gone to open this? How many times had she thrown it back into the drawer, or across the room?

Chloe was stirred from her stupor by a sudden knock at the door. Chloe shoved the bottle back into the drawer and slammed it closed. Why now?

"What the fuck do you want?" She snapped, before silently cursing herself.

"Chloe? It's me, Helen. Uh, can I come in?"

The Queen Bee rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Fine, whatever. Let me unlock the door."

A few moments later, the two girls were sitting opposite each other in Chloe's room, a pair of glasses filled with water between them.

"So? What do you want?" Chloe asked, folding her arms with a slight pout.

The Dancer looked down at her feet, as if she was unsure of what to say.

"Well? Is this going to take all day?"

"S-Sorry!" Helen squeaked, started by the sudden outburst. "It's just…"

"Just what?" Chloe retorted, patience wearing thin.

Helen swallowed, leveling her gaze at the blonde girl. "It's about Zoey. And… you, I guess."

Chloe's voice dropped to a dangerous tone. "Oh…? If it's for something like that then you can pack up and get the hell out of my room."

"No, this is something you need to hear," Helen replied simply.

"It's none of your business so lay off!" Chloe angrily slammed the table with her fist causing Helen to flinch. Despite that the Dancer's gaze remained steely and determined.

"No, it is my business," The Dancer answered. "Zoey is a good friend of mine and…"

The Dancer took a deep breath and gave the queen bee a determined look which caught Chloe off guard a bit. "I also want you to be my friend."

…

"You're crazy," Chloe decided.

"...possibly," Helen admitted. "But maybe I need to be crazy for this."

Chloe didn't respond, so Helen pressed on.

"I'm not going to try to say that you and Zoey need to just forget whatever happened between you two. But I will say that you **need** to move past them. Before it may be too late." The Dancer's voice shook slightly. "Especially with what happened yesterday. Here, there's no guarantee we live until tomorrow. And then, there will only be time for regrets."

The Queen Bee scoffed, before settling her face into a half-frown. "Do you think you're the first one to try and say something like this to me? Everybody who's tried this same speech think they understand me, think they have me all figured out, but you really don't. Nobody does."

"Maybe I don't!" Helen shouted, standing up angrily. "But just because you've got problems that you think nobody can understand, it doesn't mean nobody can help! If that were true, nobody could ever help anyone else! I don't need to fully understand you to see that what you're doing, to your friends and yourself, is wrong! You act like nobody can help you, but if you continue to believe that, you're never going to be helped. Can't you see that?"

Chloe looked on in confusion as Helen ranted at her. The Dancer's hands were clenched tight, and unless she was mistaken, tears were beginning to form in the corner of her eyes. Chloe looked away, covering her face with her hand. "Please just… sit down, ok?" she asked quietly.

Helen blinked slightly, and after quickly wiping the corners of her eyes with her hands, sat back down, hands resting on her lap.

"How much do you know?" Chloe asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "A-About Zoey… and me," she clarified hesitantly.

Helen shook her head. "Not much, to be honest. Just that you two had a big fight, and have been like this ever since."

"Well… that's true, in a sense…" Chloe responded quietly. "I-I…" The Queen Bee shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't talk about this. At least… not right now... "

Helen nodded knowingly. "Alright, that's fine. But please, promise that you'll talk soon. If not to me, than to Zoey. Please." With that, the Dancer stood up and exited the room, leaving Chloe alone with the storm brewing in her mind.

* * *

 _ **10:04 AM**_

 _ **District One**_

 _ **Hotel(Lobby)**_

Nikui swallowed a gulp as he sidestepped a Shichokuma magazine that was hurled in his direction. Morgan, who stood behind him, calmly caught it and placed it on another table. The Comedian sighed as he gazed at the cause of the sudden projectiles. Zoey was rummaging around the tables and seats in the lobby, apparently looking for something. Why this something required brutal treatment of couch cushions, Nikui did not understand.

"If I may, what exactly are you looking for, Miss Grace?" Morgan inquired politely as he ducked under a cushion thrown his way.

"My bracelet!" Zoey shouted back, ripping the cushions off another couch. The gamer's eyes lit up as she looked under it, her hand drawing out what appeared to be a small, silver bracelet.

"Is that it?" Nikui asked.

Zoey's face twisted to one of confusion. "No… it's not. I don't know what this is."

Morgan raised an eyebrow as he took the object. What seemed to be a simple silver bracelet was in reality a double-ended chain of razor sharp teeth-like ornaments, each one bearing an engraving resembling Schichokuma's red eye.

"Well this is a really disturbing bracelet," Nikui commented. "I don't know anyone who would want to wear that bear's face on any part of their body."

Morgan nodded in agreement. "Not only that, but it would appear that someone wearing this would physically harm said individual."

"So what even is it?" Zoey questioned, scratching at her forehead.

"I doubt we're going to get the answer to that question any time soon," Nikui said, folding his arms.

" **Of course not! That would ruin the fun!"**

Zoey groaned as she turned to face Shichokuma, who was waddling into the lobby. "What do you want now?"

" **C'mon now. That's a rather rude tone to take with your benevolent mayor, is it not?"**

"Considering everything you have done to this group, I believe Miss Grace is showing incredible restraint in her tone," Morgan responded flatly.

"My thoughts exactly," Nikui added. "Now, are you just here to be annoying, like usual, or do you have something else to say?"

" **My, my. Today's youth really know how to tell someone off, huh?"** Shichokuma taunted, tilting his head to the side.

Zoey rolled her eyes in annoyance. "It would seem he's just here to be annoying. Because of course he is."

" **Annoying? And who was it, pray tell, that tore this room apart? Not me, certainly. Upupu~"**

"Well maybe I'm looking for something!" The Rhythm Game Player huffed.

" **Something like your bracelet? The same bracelet that's sitting over there?"** Shichokuma chortled, pointing with a paw to the space leading to the dining hall, where a silver bracelet was indeed lying on the floor.

 _Was it really there the whole time?_ Nikui thought with a bemused expression as Zoey raced over to collect her missing accessory.

"It appears that some time could have been saved with some observance, hm?" Morgan commented dryly, prompting a light chuckle from Nikui and an embarrassed blush from Zoey.

" **Gee, if you lot are this unobservant, it's a miracle you made it through the trail. I'd suggest working on that, and soon. Upupupu!"** The bear threw his head back with rancorous laughter, the Premiers' expressions turning darker at the mention of the previous day's events.

" **Oh no, did I ruin the mood?"** Shichokuma said mockingly. **"Well, this bear hates nothing more than a room full of frowns! I'll try not to cut myself on all the edge as I leave,"** the bear laughed again as he turned and walked away.

"I really want to smash that stupid bear," Zoey growled.

"You and me both," Nikui replied with a slight smile.

Morgan cleared his throat, looking around the lobby, with cushions and magazines still scattered about. "Regardless, I suppose I shall take the liberty of cleaning up this mess. It would not do well for the lobby to be in such a state. Who knows what that bear will do if it remains this way."

Zoey shook her head. "Nah, let me help at the very least. I made this mess, so it's the least I can do."

"I guess I'll help as well. But Zoey," Nikui said, turning to the girl with a cheeky grin. "How in the world did you not notice that your bracelet was just on the floor over there?"

Another embarrassed blush came over Zoey's face. "Let's just say I've never been the most observant of people, alright? Anyway, what should we do about that bracelet, or whatever it is, that we found?"

Rolling his eyes in amusement at the girl's eagerness to change the subject, Nikui looked at Morgan, who still held the object. "That's a good question. For now, I guess we should just leave it here. We can ask the others about it later."

Morgan nodded in agreement. "I suppose that would be the correct course of action. For now, let us just get this cleaned up."

The Barber set the bracelet down on a table, and the three Premiers got to work. Unnoticed by any of them, the bracelet briefly glowed a faint crimson, perhaps hinting at something far more sinister than any of them could expect.

* * *

 **Population of Central City: 14**

* * *

 **A/n: First, a huge apology for another long wait. I'm trying to get better about this, I swear. -_- Next, I would like to thank Yuuki Ikustka(Kasuka's creator, and author of Chateau D'Death) for joining me as my co-writer. Hopefully, this should help speed chapters along. Finally, even though I'm a month late at this point, I would like to give a big happy birthday to Crit Fail, as well as a huge thanks for everything that he's done.** **He deserves it.** **And as always, big shoutout to my betas. Additionally, a big shout-out to JCW18 for helping me write that scene with Aiger and Caroline. Thank you all so much! So for now, MudkipOfDespair signing off!**

 **Incredibly Late Review Section**

 **Sparten2121:** _Well, if I can actually get chapters out, you'll see ;)_

 **danieltruong1917:** _Indeed! ...immediately followed by another long chapter gap._

 **Little max:** _I missed it as well! As for the other parts of your review, you will just have to wait and see… (Hopefully not as long as this again)_

 **McLogal:** _This is still baffling. And amusing. Bafflmusing? I don't know._


	11. ERROR?

**Central City Program Failing…**

 **Error**

 **Error**

 **Error**

 **Starting recovery process…**

 **Standby….**

 **Recovery failed….**

 **Please hold….**

 **Launching Backup Program…**

 **Please hold…**

 **Please hold…**

 **Backup confirmed.**

 **Launching Hades Program…**

 **This may take a while…**

 **Please hold….**


End file.
